Brothers of Destiny
by Ulura
Summary: Sequel to Fathers Guilt. Merlin and Arthur continue to protect Camelot from the various threats that face it, how will Merlin keep his magic and how will Arthur keep his love for Gwen from Uther? AU
1. Chapter 1: Prologue

Uther walked through the halls of the castle as fast as could, without looking non-regal. King Bayard was arriving any hour now and his sons were nowhere to be seen. Ever since the disaster of his first visit both kings had know the next would be somewhat tense and so the castle was in an uproar making sure everything was perfect. The kitchens were so full of steam you could hardly tell where you were going. He had been searching for the princes for over an hour now and was beginning to get exasperated. His frustration grew as he walked into the hall where many people were hard at work readying the room for the feast tonight. Unfortunately neither Merlin nor Arthur was one of them.

"For the love of Camelot has anybody seen my sons?" The king sighed, running his hands through his hair. Those two would be the death of him.

_..._

"Come on you slow poke!" Yelled Arthur as he ducked yet another branch as he ran through the trees, careful not to let the crossbows slung over his shoulder catch on anything.

"It's your fault our horses ran off!" Merlin laughed chasing after his brother, "If you had tied them properly we wouldn't be running like this"

"Well if you hadn't been sitting in your room re-reading the last letter Elena sent you we could of left on time!" Arthur jeered making Merlin blush.

Arthur just laughed, both of them really didn't mind this mad rush back to the castle. They hadn't meant to stay out hunting this long, they hadn't caught anything big anyway, only rabbits. Which a grumpy Merlin was forced to carry over his shoulders since Arthur took the crossbows. In the long year that had passed since the dragons attack thing had been peaceful in Camelot, for once. In a little under a year Merlin was going to come of age and Arthur looked forward to getting him completely drunk at the celebration.

The people gave the two affectionate smiles as they ran through the lower town, laughing as they went. Arthur even managed to steal a glance at Gwen who tossed him an apple from her basket. Merlin shot his brother a teasing glance resulting in Arthur's face turning as red as the fruit.

"Your father is going to have to build another set of stocks so you can both go there at the same time!" Gaius growled as the princes arrived at the front door to the castle leaning on their knees whilst catching their breath.

"Oh come on Gaius, we're not that late" Arthur replied

"Yeah, we have time to change!" Merlin continued as they quickly handed their hunt and weapons to some servants.

"Oh really?" Gaius questioned with his trade mark eyebrow, "Well a messenger arrived about 5 minutes ago announcing that Bayard is to arrive in 10"

"So that gives us five minutes to bathe and change then be at the stairs waiting for him?" Arthur gaped, Gaius nodded. Merlin turned to Arthur grinning.

"I'll bet we can make that" He dared.

"Last one to the stairs has to explain to father why we were late!" Arthur laughed as he set off up the stairs.

"Hey you got a head start!" Merlin yelled, running off after him.

"I can't decided if I prefer Arthur as the arrogant bully he was or the huge child Merlin turned him into" Gwen sighed with a smile having just come in the door. Gaius sighed with her.

"What are we going to do with them?"


	2. Chapter 2: Tears of Uther Pendragon I

The battle field was strewn with bodies, all wearing Camelot's bright red cloak. Merlin was thankful for the colour, it hid the blood well. The entire area was completely silent, the battle long over, who ever had done this had left none alive, Merlin suddenly wished he were back in the tense room with Bayard. The visit some weeks ago had been a most uncomfortable affair. Now he felt guilt for thinking such things while these men were killed.

"Check for survivors!" Arthur ordered, Merlin listened as several ravens's call echoed over the plains. They would find no survivors.

"Their attackers headed north!" Arthur called as he examined the ground, "Come on!"

"Do you think it's safe to go after them?" Merlin asked.

"You are such a girl" Arthur sighed, Merlin groaned. He had been sitting on that horse all day, frankly he was sick of it.

Again he felt a pang of guilt for complaining as the guards who were with them had to walk the entire way. That didn't stop him and Arthur arguing the entire way there, banter was in full swing today.

"Flags!" Arthur hissed, Merlin looked down the ridge to see he was right. A small and seemingly empty camp was resting just below them. Both princes dismounted and made their way down, swords drawn.

Arthur used his hand signals to order the warriors to search the camp, even in the years he had lived as a prince Merlin ad never mastered them. He simply stayed one step behind his brother. The entire camp was silent until the whiz of an arrow filled the air followed by a yelp of pain from another knight who promptly fell to the ground. The fog had concealed the camps true owners who swiftly made their way back, swords raised.

It didn't take long for the entire area to be filled with the sounds of clashing swords and warriors cries. As always Arthur was ever masterful with his sword, Merlin worked his way through defending. Occasionally sending out a burst of expertly aimed magic to help both he and his brother when needed. Soon Camelot was leading the fight and the remaining attackers retreated into the fog, leaving the survivors to look though the camp once more.

Merlin shot his head up when he heard a twig snap, Arthur was already advancing on the area from which the sound hand appeared. Why would one of the attackers come back? Then a stumbling figure appeared. Her face was smudged with dirt and grime, dress ripped, hair a mess of black tendrils and sticks.

"Morgana"

_..._

Uther could scarcely believe the news when Merlin had delivered it. The by had been so pale and shock that when he returned to report to Uther alone the king had feared that Arthur had been lost in battle. The news that they had found Morgana and that Arthur was currently helping her to her old chambers had made his heart sore. Now he and his sons stood in the hall, waiting for Gaius to return.

"How is she?" The king gushed when Gaius appeared

"She'll be fine" Gaius smiled

"There is nothing wrong with her?"

"Nothing physical" Gaius corrected

"May I see her?" The king continued, he was desperate.

"Best wait till morning" Gaius suggested, the king missed the small glance the physician sent to his youngest son.

...

Arthur found Merlin alone in his room sitting at his desk, staring straight ahead with dead eyes. They brightened at the sight of Arthur.

"Did she say anything? When you helped her to her rooms?" He asked, half hopefully half dejected.

"No" Arthur answered knowing full well what Merlin was near panic about.

"She's going to" Merlin moaned covering his face, "And when she does..."

"She doesn't know you have magic, you are safe" Arthur implored.

"She knows I tried to poison her!" Merlin countered tears appeared in the corner of his eyes, Arthur could practically feel the guilt radiating off the young man. Merlin had mostly managed to put the incident behind him now, however he knew that his brother still suffered from nightmares about the incident occasionally.

"You had no choice" Arthur replied laying a hand on Merlin shoulder comfortingly.

"Uther doesn't know that all she'll say is that I tried to kill her..." Merlin moaned, "What do you think father will do to me?"

"Lets just what and see what tomorrow brings" Arthur suggested, He didn't want to admit he had no idea.

...

Merlin stood in the doorway as Arthur sat with Morgana on her bed, he was too afraid to enter any further.

"I was kept in a cell for almost a year" She sobbed, "I thought I'd go mad"

"How'd you escape?" Arthur asked softly

"They moved me about a week ago" Morgana answered, "I don't know why, It may of been the patrol from Camelot"

"The patrol found you?"

"I thought I was going to be free" She smiled sadly, "Then I saw them killed, every one of them cut down. That night the bandits were distracted by their spoils, I took my chance. When I saw you I couldn't believe it"

The two hugged, Morgana's green eyes fell on Merlin, he felt his heart clench. Arthur stood and left the room after Morgana made some comment about needing her rest. Somehow Merlin knew he was supposed to stay. The air in the room fizzed with mixed emotions.

"I know what you did" She whispered, "You tried to poison me"

"I...I didn't want to" merlin muttered sadly

"It's alright Merlin, I understand" She half sobbed, Merlin felt a strange lightness fill his head, "You were protecting Camelot, I'd of done the same"

"Really?" He breathed

"I was so naive Merlin" She implored, "I don't think I understood what I was doing. But believe me, I have seen the evils in this world. I know what Uther fights against. You don't know how much I regret everything, I just...hope you can forgive me"

"I am so sorry for everything that you've been through" Merlin insisted, he felt like a weight had been taken off his shoulders, "It's good to have you back!"

...

Uther barely heard the sound of the doors to the throne room opening as Sir Leon explained the troubles at the border. He was too engrossed in his work, he glanced up expecting to see another knight or maybe a servant. What his eyes landed on was a pale cream dress, worn by his ward. One he had not seen in a year.

"Enough" He ordered, not taking his eyes of Morgana, "Leave us!"

He rushed down the stairs of his thrown and threw his arms around Morgana, tears leaked over both their eyes and for once the king did not care. Morgana smiled, wipping his eyes with her handkerchief.

"You should sit" He offered

"No, that's all I've done for the past year, sit" She answered through her tears, "And pray that you had not given up on me"

"Never!" He exclaimed hugging her once more.

"You've done so much for me" She smiled, "Loved me like I was your own daughter, yet I've hurt you. I don't know why you put up with me. I promise, I am going to show you the lobe and respect you deserve"

She kissed his cheek and he her hand before she turned, leaving him to his council. The king had not felt so much joy in his entire life. He could never of seen the evil smirk that was etched onto Morgana's lips and she waked from the room.

**Dun dun duuuuuun! I only have limited access to the internet over the next few days so my updates will be slow. From the 13th-19th there will be no updates I'm sorry I will be away without a computer. However I will try and write as much as I can in the mean time. **


	3. Chapter 3: Tears of Uther Pendragon II

Prince Merlin's servant William was in a state of mild panic. Ever since he started working for the prince nightmares had occurred, sometimes terrible sometimes minor. There had been very few over the last few months. Most often he simply let the prince be and he recovered fine but tonight he didn't know what to make of it. Merlin tossed and turned, tangling himself in his blankets, breath coming in shaky inconsistent gasps. He had even murmured some form of gibberish. At first the servant had suspected fever but the prince did not feel warm but no matter what the man did he could not wake the man.

Feeling there was no alternative the servant hurried down to Arthur's chambers, he hadn't done so for years but he felt as if he had no choice. The prince was unusually still awake, reading at his desk, the servant was thankful for that.

"Sire, I need help, it's your brother" He begged

"What's he done this time?" Arthur sighed, putting down the book.

"He is tossing and turning in bed, I thought he was having a bad nightmare but I can't wake him" The servant explained, head bowed, "No matter how hard I try"

Arthur was on his feet and out the door in a matter of seconds. William ran off in pursuit.

...

_Merlin was in a fog, one he couldn't escape. He saw himself standing with Morgana, the conversation they had had that very day echoing through his brain. Only this time he stood forward and hugged her. He watched as from out of nowhere, Morgana drew an ornate dagger, ready to plunge it into his back. _

_Then the pale moon appeared and the scene changed, Morgana was walking through the castle, same dagger in hand. Flames swirled through his head, adding to the thick fog. He heard an inhuman roar and Morgana's scream and then once again the scene changed._

_A dark forest with two shady figures talking, the rattle of chains. Hissing of armored beasts and even more flames, pain and roars. The flames then stopped in time, fading into pale crystals, they were everywhere. Growing, encasing him in them, he couldn't get away and the crystals burned like the fire they had spawned from. In the crystals dances a thousand images at once, accompanied by a thousand different sounds, all bombarding him at once. Warrior skeletons, a flying dragon, fire, a dagger, Morgana laughing, screams, Arthur yelling, Uther's shocked face._

_I warned you!_

_The witch must die!_

_It's the only way!_

_You must fight Emrys!_

_Emrys!_

_Merlin!_

"Merlin wake up!"

...

Though Arthur knew Merlin occasionally suffered from nightmares over the last year they had been no where near like this. Merlin thrashed and moaned, only one hand was free of the sheets tight bind and it clawed at this air making it hard to get close enough to check him.

"Merlin snap out of it!" Arthur ordered, worry slipping through his words, Merlin tossed his head eyes opening ever so slightly, revealing blazing golden irises rolling up in his head.

"William, please let me handle this, go home!" Arthur yelled hurriedly, covering the magical whisperings of his brother. He hated how he did that in his sleep! Thankfully the servant did as he was told.

"Merlin, wake up!" Arthur yelled shaking his shoulder, Merlin's eyes opened fully, still blazing bright gold with magic as he sat up with a strangled yell Arthur usually associated with tortured men. The elder prince jumped when every vase in the room smashed from the inside out and all the candle blazed into life. Merlin's eyes faded back to frightened blue as he sat, gulping in air as if he had been drowning.

"What the heck was that?" Arthur yelled, making Merlin flinch.

"I-I don't know" Merlin stammered, "I didn't think I had seer powers I, I mean if that what that was I can't...the images are fading..."

...

"Morgana is making a remarkable recovery My Lord" Gaius reported as Uther readied himself for the day.

"Was always like that as a child, she inherited much from her father" Uther replied thoughtfully

"Gorlois was a great man" Gaius smiled. Uther felt his spirit darken a little out of jealousy.

"Indeed" He agreed, "I trust she will be able to attend the feast tonight?"

"I don't see any reason why not" Gaius shrugged

"Thankyou Gaius, that is all"

...

The feast was fantastic, the celebrations would go well on into the night, Uther could tell. It was all the brighter for Morgana being there. He stood, trying to quiet the room.

"Standing here, seeing so many happy faces, seems almost like a dream" Uther began, blinking back tears, "I can tell you I have not felt like this in a long time"

"What, drunk?" Both Merlin and Arthur countered, Uther playfully batted them away.

"Drunk with happiness!" He laughed, "I would of search the entire world, the seas, the skies, the stars, just for that smile. To have Morgana stolen from me was like a blade to my heart. There are no words, you mean more to me than you will ever know! To the Lady Morgana!"

He embraced her as he toast went on, he had not felt so moved while giving a speech since Merlin own return over three years ago. He stumbled backwards slightly, perhaps he had drunk a little too much.

"I need some air" He excused himself and went out into the cool courtyard. He was enjoying this night so much he wished it would never end. A dripping sound filled the air he wandered through the empty area, eventually leaning on the well, chuckling at the fact that he was so drunk he couldn't figure out the dripping was from the wet ropes. He turned to leave when a piercing scream filled his ears.

He looked down to see a pale hand grasping his wrist, he yelled in fright trying to pry it off. He looked down at the dirty, pale face of Ygraine, his wife! She was in the well!

"Please..." She whispered, "Please!"

He screamed in fright pulling the ghastly hand off him. The ghost of his wife was burned into his mind, he closed his eyes, curling up on the ground where he fell trying to get the image of the ghoul out of his head. For some reason he couldn't stop the screams from bursting through his throat. He was vaguely aware that people were talking to him and that Gaius was giving him something to drink, he downed the potion without hesitation.

He faded in and out of consciousness over the next few minutes, his sons had his arms over their shoulders, carrying him to his room and placing him on the bed. He could hear Morgana's worried words, muffled by whatever potion Gaius had given him and then there was nothing.

**Just like in 'Fathers Guilt' I am trying to stick to Merlin, Arthur, Uther and occasionally Gaius point of view through this story unless its absolutely necessary as I want it told from their point of view. I assume if you are reading this you have seen the show so everything that happens with Morgana and Morgause still happens, I just wanted to focus the story more on the brother and their father so I can focus on their emotional reactions. **


	4. Chapter 4: Tears of Uther Pendragon III

"What happened?" Merlin asked following Gaius out of the chamber, Arthur a few steps behind.

"I've no idea" Said Gaius not looking at either of the princes.

"Gaius, he was lying on the ground crying!" Arthur exclaimed.

"Exhaustion" Gaius supplied, both brothers gave him a glare, that didn't fool either of them for a second.

"What aren't you telling us?" Asked Merlin. Gaius bit his lip.

"When I got to the king he was mumbling and, he mentioned your mothers name" Gaius answered nodding at Arthur, "He claimed he saw her, in the well"

"Nobody can hear about this!" Arthur hissed

"We will say he was ill but is now recovering" Replied Gaius ever calm. Arthur stormed off back to his fathers room, Merlin stood in the corridor, looking up at the moon. Arthur would always be closer to Uther than he was.

...

"We've had reports of mercenaries streaming into Cenred's kingdom" Arthur reported. He had to admit, now that his father was back on his throne, in front of the court he seemed himself again. Perhaps it had been the wine last night which had caused the outburst.

"Do we know why?" His father asked

"There is a rumor that Cenred is building an army" Arthur answered, "I think we should..."

Arthur trailed off when he realised his father wasn't listening to him anymore and instead had eyes for the back of the room. Bright eyes were wide with fear. The prince glanced behind him but saw only the council, who were all turning around as well and finding nothing. Uther stood shakily, eyes still on the empty doorway much to Arthur's inner panic.

"Leave me alone" Uther whispered pointing to the archway where nothing stood, "Get out of here"

Arthur glanced around at the uneasy faces in the room, why did this have to happen in court? Why not somewhere more private? He attempted to calm his father by taking his hand but it resulted in more shouting.

"Get out!" The king ordered, "GET OUT! I'll have you hanged!"

Merlin had evidently had enough of this and quickly grabbed his father by the shoulder along with Arthur and dragged him to the back of the room, this was not an easy task as Uther struggled with it every step of the way.

"There had to be an explanation" Merlin wondered aloud as Arthur placed his father back in his bed.

"During the great purge, Uther drowned many he suspected of sorcery" Gaius sighed, "some, God help them, were children, killed for the magic they were born with"

Arthur watched as Merlin visibly paled.

"Perhaps his conscience has got the best of him" Gaius finished, "We can no longer hide this, whatever it is"

The sound of warning bells filled the air prompting Merlin to go in search of the cause, leaving Arthur with their father.

...

As his father was bed bound Arthur was now in change of Camelot, something he felt he was most defiantly not ready for, Merlin appeared in the council chambers Gaius in tow to report the apparent death of a sentry who had been found at the bottom on the bridge that joined the castle and the city.

"It appears he died some time in the night" Gaius reported

"Who could of done this?" Asked Arthur

"This is the sigil of the blood guard" Gaius explained handing him the dagger which had killed the man.

"They were warrior priests who protected the High Priestesses of the Old Religion" Merlin explained, "They must of escapes the purge, or at least some of them"

"There's a traitor is Camelot" Arthur surmised, Merlin nodded slowly.

"The man can tell us soon enough" Gaius replied much to Arthur's shock, he had assumed the man was dead.

"He lived?" Morgana gasped before adding, "Wonderful!"

...

Merlin sat with Arthur in their fathers chamber, neither of them really wanted to leave. Gaius joined them handing Merlin the medicine which Uther had to drink later when he awoke. The king twitched and sighed in his sleep which hardly seemed restful, Merlin couldn't help but worry.

"I have bad news" Gaius sighed, "The sentry has died"

"I thought you said he was recovering" Merlin replied, he found he had little energy.

"Somebody killed him, the traitor I presume" Gaius answered sadly, "Poisoned, at least now we know there is a traitor inside Camelot's walls, the question is who?"

"Merlin had a dream" Arthur piped up, "He thinks it was a prophetic one, maybe this is what you were predicting, you should of seen him Gaius he was in such a state!"

"I told you Arthur its all such a blur" Merlin groaned, "I'm not a seer, I can't remember what I see, I didn't even know I could!"

Merlin got up, suddenly wanting to be alone, he heard Gaius speaking to Arthur as he walked away. Something about the vision from the Crystal of Neahtid frightening him, what a stupid idea! He growled, leaning against the window sill looking over the courtyard. It was a habit he had developed over the last year when he was frustrated, he blamed the dragonlord powers as the growling was similar to when he had spoken in the dragon tongue. He wondered where the dragon was now, he hadn't seen him since he banished him from the city, he wasn't sure he wanted to.

Thats when he saw the dark shape of Morgana walking across the courtyard, what would she be doing out on her own so late? A sudden flash made Merlin's hand fly to his forehead. Morgana, ready to plunge and ornate knife into his back, no wait it was Uther's...

That had been part of his dream he was sure of it, also fire, dark creatures and crystals...

Those didn't matter right now what mattered was that he knew he needed to follow Morgana. He quickly ran down the staircases and began following her through the lower town and eventually into the forest. Morgana stood in a clearing as a small group entered on horse back, one of them was Morgause.

"Sorry you had to wait" Morgause greeted, "There was much to discus"

"Your visit was successful?" Morgana questioned

"Cenred's army rides to Camelot on my command" Morgause answered proudly

"There is nothing you can do" Morgana smiled happily

"It is you who inspires me" The witch replied, Merlin felt sick.

"How goes the battle for Uther's mind?"

"When Cenred marches on Camelot, he will find a kingdom without a king" Morgana boasted, "There is however, a slight problem, Merlin suspects me"

Merlin froze behind the log which concealed him.

"Has he told Arthur?" Asked Morgause

"Not yet but he will" Morgana sneered, "we must stop him"

"At once" Morgause agreed

"It wont be difficult" Morgana smiled, "Seeing as he's already here!"

Merlin cursed himself for not being quieter, there was no point in lying however, he stood. Morgana laughed.

"Did you really think I was that stupid?"

...

"How are you sire?" Gaius questioned as he walked into the elder princes room, Arthur had tried to make himself busy with paper work though little distracted him, he had been unable to find Merlin. His brother was most likely off sulking somewhere.

"I'm not the one who's sick" He replied curtly

"It can't be easy seeing your father this way" Gaius supplied

"No" Arthur admitted, "Its hard seeing him so fragile and helple-"

_Arthur help!_

Merlin rarely used his telepathy unless it was critical, now his voice exploded into Arthur's head without warning making his hand fly to his ears to make sure he wasn't going mad as well.

_They're after me I-_

As sudden as the contact had come it was cut off drastically short, something had prevented Merlin from relaying his message, that made Arthur feel concern.

"Merlin's in trouble"

**For season 3 im thinking the episodes**

**Tears of Uther Pendragon (2)**

**Gwaine (I'll introduce Lancelot there too since I skipped his episode)**

**The Crystal Cave**

**The changling**

**The Castle Fryien (Maybe, Im not sure)**

**Queen of Hearts**

**Coming of Arthur 1 & 2**

**Any objections/suggestions?**


	5. Chapter 5: Tears of Uther Pendragon IV

Merlin awoke to see the morning light filtering through the green leaves of the trees above him. He did not have much time to dwell on the beauty of the scene however as he was yanked off his back on onto his knees, his arms reached out instinctually to support him but he found them tied to his side by silver chains.

"Well well, if it isn't the littlest prince" Morgause greeted with a sly grin, "Just out for a stroll I suppose"

Merlin grimaced but remained tight lipped.

"Time and again you've risked everything to keep your brother safe" Morgause mused aloud slowly walking around the warlock, "There is something more between you two, some secret nobody else knows"

Merlin let his eyes fall to the ground. He remembered last night while trying to run he had called out to Arthur using his magic in a moment of panic. Why hadn't he found him yet? In a way he was glad, Arthur wasn't at risk at least, his musings were interrupted by a sudden tightening on his bonds making him gasp as the air was squeezed out of him.

"You chose to poison one of my own" Morgause growled, "You may regret that"

She took her leave, bringing her two soldiers with her as she stormed off, leaving Merlin the empty clearing. He actually did not mind too much, now he was able to free himself or so he thought.

"Tospringe!" He chanted only to have the chains tighten further much to his discomfort. He tried several other spells however none were effective, they only made his bonds tighten. He was about to contact Arthur once more to ask him to help when some falling rocks off a ridge to his left caught his attention. He then became aware of several movements surrounding him. Glances of armored backs and long curling scorpion tails caught his eyes. Serkets.

"Merlin?" Came a far off call, Arthur!

_No! _Merlin screamed in his mind _No Arthur don't look for me, it's not safe here! The serkets have found me, don't worry, I'll be alright, just get back to the castle._

The last thing he wanted was Arthur fighting these beasts. He wished that Arthur could reply with telepathy so he could at least know if he was being a prat or actually doing what Merlin told him for once. He gulped as the serkets closed in slowly. They were playing with their food.

"Awendap eft wansaeliga neatu!" He chanted, however the monsters only took a few steps back, he tried again, "Forlætan me a...!"

His spell was stopped halfway through a sharp, blinding pain filled his back, one of the serkets had gotten him. Gasping from the pain his brain began calculating the best spell in which to help him, however he was coming up empty, he had only one chance. Lifting his head to the sky he used the words he had not uttered in over a year.

"Ω δρακον, έάω μαλερός σοφόνους φθέγγομαι τείδε άναδικέω!"

The effort exhausted him completely as the magic drained his energy along with the powerful poison, he fell to his side gasping for breath. He had no choice but to wait, he regretted ordering Arthur away now...

His was vaguely aware of a great shadow falling over the glade and fire falling over it but he was barely conscious enough to recognize it. The last thing he remembered was being lifted into the air before blackness filled his vision.

Strangely the next thing he became aware of was that he was lying on hard stones, he blinked to clear his vision to reveal the calm face of the great dragon. He had come!

"I didn't think you'd answer my call" He whispered

"Merlin" The dragon replied affectionately, "I could not resist a dragonlord, even if I wanted to"

"I'm grateful thankyou" the prince sighed trying to stand but found his head protested with gusto, "Ow...my head..."

"Lie still" The dragon soothed "The serket's poison is powerful, I have given you an enchantment that will help you heal. But it will take time"

...

Sometimes Arthur hated his brother. Not only had he sent him into a small panic because he was no doubt in trouble, then he tells him not to come because he's surrounded by serkets! If anything that just made the elder prince worry more, sure Merlin was an all powerful warlock but...serkets!

He had found the area where Merlin must of been, the entire clearing was smoldering from old flames, the bodies of half a dozen serkets lay on the ground.

"Gods Merlin where are you?"

...

Merlin's eyes burst open, he felt healthy again, however he was horrified to see it was the middle of the night. Jumping to his feet and quickly finding his balance he stood to face his friend.

"You shouldn't of let me sleep!" He exclaimed

"I had no choice young warlock, the venom was too strong" The dragon replied "Even for your great powers"

"I don't have time" Merlin argued, "I need to get back to Arthur, warn him and Uther about Morgana"

"You thought Morgana was the same as you" The dragon surmised much to Merlin annoyance, he nodded, "Trust is a double edged sword Merlin, in some ways you are the same however, now, now there is no turning back for her"

"I need to get back to Camelot, Arthur" Merlin repeated

"You are not yet fully recovered and its more than three days walk!" The dragon exclaimed

"I have no intention of walking" Replied Merlin with a grin.

...

The flight back to Camelot had been exhilarating, he wished he could fly with the dragon every day. The wind in his hair had been amazing. He was sorrowful when the trip had to end in the field a few miles from the city.

"Be careful young one, the great battle for Camelot has begun" The dragon warned before taking to the skies once more. Merlin ran back to Camelot as fast as he could force his legs to go. Not at all surprised to see Arthur pacing up and down the bridge at the castles main gate waiting fro him, despite the late hour.

"Merlin!" He exclaimed "Where have you been! You have any idea how worried Gwen, Morgana and I were?"

Merlin felt a pang of pain go through his heart at the mention of Morgana's name, he had no choice.

"Arthur she's working with Morgause" He said sadly, "They captured and tied me up in the forest and left me for the serkets"

"No..." Arthur breathed, "She wouldn't..."

"She has Arthur, I don't know how yet but I'll bet she is responsible for fathers illness" Merlin explained, "Come on, is we go to his room I'll bet we find a poultice or something there!"

The princes wasted no time, Arthur was unusually quiet though due to the situation he didn't blame him. They were shocked to find Uther's room in complete darkness and disarray, his bed empty. Merlin rushed to check it over while Arthur, who had found their father curled up in the corner tried to get closer to him.

"Father...?"

Uther didn't reply, his eyes were fixed on the empty space on the other side of the room, frightened and sobbing Arthur could not calm him. Merlin searched the bed, there had no be something here! He ducked under the mattress and saw a horrible disfigured root, dripping ith mud, he cursed himself for not sensing the magic earlier. snatching it up in his hands he bolted over to the barely lit fire and threw the horrid object into the flames.

A horrible scream filled the air as the root burnt making Merlin block his ears in an attempt to keep out the wretched sound. Arthur paid no heed, only breathing a sigh of relief when his father stopped whimpering and sighed, falling unconscious in his eldest's arms. Carefully the princes placed their sleeping father back in his bed, sending a servant for Gaius.

"We have to tell him what Morgana has done" Merlin decided.

"He loves her, he dotes upon her every word" Arthur argued, "We will tell him, but not before we give Morgana a piece of our minds!"

**Hey guys! Don't worry more original stuff is coming but I have to get the basics over and done with. I have two possible ways this could go as I still want Morgana evil. Sorry Morgana lovers!**


	6. Chapter 6: Tears of Uther Pendragon V

The brothers hurried along the corridor towards Morgana's chambers, Arthur out in front until Merlin grabbed his arm, holding a finger to his lips in order to stop his brother asking questions.

"Stay here" he whispered before heading down the corridor alone, as expected he left somebody grab him by the elbow and drag him into one of the many alcoves, Morgana.

"I don't know how you escaped" She hissed, "But I swear if you mention anything of what you saw I will make your life a very short and painful one! Imagine how Uther would react if he discovered his own son had tried to kill his beloved ward?"

"I had no choice!" Merlin hissed right back, "Why are you doing this? Your going to destroy your own family!"

"And I'd do it again" She announced proudly, sicking her chin out. A small, sad smile etched its way onto Merlin's face, making the sneer on Morgana's disappear.

"Do you need anymore proof, Arthur?" he called sadly. Listening as Arthur made his way down to his brother, glaring at Morgana, his lips forming a thin line across his face.

"Why?" Arthur whispered, "We are your family"

"No" Morgana sneered, "Morgause, my sister is the only family I have"

Whatever reply Arthur had been about to say was interrupted by the warning bells, before either brother could ask why they were distracted by Sir Leon appearing in the archway to the hall, face flushed from running.

"Sires!" He called, "An army is marching on Camelot!"

In shock both princes leapt to the nearest window to see that the knight was indeed right. A huge army of more than twenty thousand were only minutes away from the city! Merlin gaped at the sheer amount of men, there had been rumors that Cenred was amazing an army but, this, this was a terrifying prospect for the city.

"Prepare for battle!" Arthur ordered, "Prepare for siege!"

When Merlin turned his attention back to Morgana she was already half way down the corridor, happy smile on her face. The brothers chased after her but she was soon lost in the crowds of people, servants, ladies, lords, knights and guards filled the halls of the castle all trying to take cover and prepare for the battle ahead. Merlin watched as Arthur hugged Gwen, whispering something in her ear, no doubt telling her to stay safe.

"I'll find Morgana!" He yelled, "You defend the citadel!"

He didn't wait for an answer he ran off, glad his sword was at his side and his throwing knife. Morgana would have her own part in this plan, the question was what? Hurriedly he made his way to his own rooms as donned his armor, in the few short minutes needed to do so he could already see flames licking the windows. Cenred's army was advancing fast. Ignoring his search for Morgana, Merlin ran out into the courtyard, hoping to see Arthur, instead he found his father.

"You need to go back!" He yelled, his father pushed past him without a word. Well that explains more of Arthur personality. He dove to the side as a fireball crashed to the ground next to him, obliterating the well and sending a knight to the ground. Ignoring the knights cries from his burns Merlin quickly lopped an arm around him and carried him to the infirmary, he didn't have time to be gentle. By the time he returned he was horrified to see Arthur carrying an injured Uther to a wall to rest.

"You must get back to the battle, they are loose in the lower town!" Uther panted

"It's already lost father" Arthur replied bandaging his side hurriedly

"And the citadel?"

"Safe for now" Merlin reported, "Trust us we know what we are doing!"

"I'll take him to the infirmary" Arthur announced, however Merlin's eyes were locked on the Lady Morgana, making her way to the crypts. Arthur saw as well, giving him a nod as Merlin took off after her. He made his way down the several halls before a massive wave of magical energy hit him, almost throwing him back. Whatever that was, it couldn't be Morgana's own power, she had a weapon, one he needed destroyed.

...

Arthur leaned against the cracking walls of the castle trying to catch his breath. He wished Merlin had stayed with him for support this battle was hard. He heard several screams at once, this in itself was not unusual in a siege but this yells came from knights. Turning his jaw dropped to see skeleton's wielding swords come at him. Great, now they had to fight the battle on two fronts, just what Camelot needed. This had Morgana written all over it. He was surprised how his feelings towards her could become so bitter so fast.

He soon discovered the creatures were not fazed by loss of limb, in fact the limbs themselves came to life, grabbing their own weapons. How do you kill something that's already dead? He wished he had bought excalibur with him, but he had left it in his room. How could he of been so stupid? He only hoped Merlin was faring better than he.

...

Skeletons! The dead were fighting him it was unbelievable! He had almost made his way down to the crypts where Morgana had been running when an entire army of skeletons started up the stairs after him, if he had any doubt that's where Morgana was hiding it swiftly disappeared. It had taken a good five minutes of running to get to the top of the stairs in order to hide from the horde, he had no chance of beating his way through them.

Finally the hoard past through giving Merlin access to the hall which he ran down, taking the steps two or three at a time before skidding to a half in the cobweb filled crypts. As suspected there was an ominous glowing stick in the middle of the room, tiny branches reaching out of it, cradling the light it held, next to it was Morgana, smirking.

"You should leave now while you still can" She taunted.

"Morgana please I beg you" Merlin pleaded as more cracks forming in the walls sending dust swirling between the two, "Women and children are dying the city will fall!"

"Good!" She cried, Merlin looked at her with a look of shock. Morgana would never want innocents to die, she cant of changed that much.

"No, you don't mean that" He replied shakily.

"I have magic Merlin" She spat, "Uther hates me and every one like me, why should I feel and differently about him?"

"You of all people could change Uther's mind" Merlin agued, "But using magic like this will only harden his heart!"

"You don't have magic Merlin" She laughed, "How could you hope to understand"

Oh the irony in those words.

"I do understand" He yelled back, he could tell her, maybe he could save her...

"You don't know what it's like, to be an outsider, to be ashamed of how you were born to have to hide who you are!" Morgana cried

"Please, we can find another way" Merlin pleaded holding out his hand to her for the last time.

"There is no other way" She whispered, then with a cry swung her sword at him, knocking his own which had been held limply in his other hand out of the way.

"What are you going to do?" He taunted, "Kill me?"

"You don't think I can?"

"If you're going to do it, make it quick"

For a second she hesitated, before striking down on him, this hesitation gave him enough to time grab his own sword to defend himself. Each time he tried to get closer to the staff she blocked him, swordplay was never is forte, he had no choice, stumbling behind a grave he stared up at the ceiling above Morgana.

"Feoll bu brand!" he whispered under his breath, sending stones from the ceiling crashing down on Morgana. He had no time for guilt now. Jumping to his feet he ran up the staff.

"Snæde!" He yelled, slicing his sword through the wood, a bright light and sparks spewed forth as it broke. Merlin wanted nothing more than to sleep, or at least rest for a while but he knew he couldn't, the skeletons were gone but there was still an army at his front door. He ran back up the stairs, glancing back at the still unconscious Morgana.

He sighed and turned his back on her, in more ways than one.

**Sorry this is so late but my computer decided to be spazzy Mc Spaz and crash on me TWICE meaning this is actually the third time I had to write this!**


	7. Chapter 7: Tears of Uther Pendragon VI

Merlin ran back up the stairs, cries of victory filled the air as the skeletons dropped, no longer having to fight on two fronts Camelot was swiftly taking the lead in battle. It didn't take Merlin long to find Arthur and his father to start driving back Cenred's army. After hours of battle, the army was finally retreating much to Camelot's joy. Uther clamped a hand on Arthur and Merlin's shoulders appreciatively, grinning. Merlin's grin faded however when he saw Morgana, changing into a glare which both Uther and Arthur noticed. While Arthur's face mirrors Merlins, Uther's held only confusion.

"You left me to the mercy of those skeletons!" Morgana cried pointing at Merlin, fake tears building up in her eyes. Uther looked at Merlin in horror.

"You did what?" He growled, Merlin wasn't fazed.

"Those creatures wouldn't of harmed you, thats how a spell works everybody knows that" Merlin replied darkly much to Arthur and Uther's shock. It was rare for Merlin to display such a cold personality.

"They'd never hurt the witch that summoned them" He added, Uther looked like he'd hit the warlock he was so livid, "I destroyed your staff, I stopped you from killing your own family, betraying your own city!"

"Merlin!" Uther hissed

"It's true father, she tried to kill Merlin last night" Arthur added, "He only just managed to escape". Merlin hadn't told Arthur that he used the dragon to escape, he wondered how he'd feel about it...

"Why must you ruin everything!" Morgana screamed, true colours bursting through.

"You bought this on yourself" Merlin argued stepping forward, sword at the ready. He wished desperately that half of Camelot's knight and its king were not watching. At least then he could resort to magic if he needed to. Morgana gave a frustrated yell, spreading her palm over to where a discarded dagger lay, levitating it into the air and sending it hurling through the air, straight at Merlin's head.

...

Uther felt his heart breaking at Morgana's obvious betrayal, she had only just come back to him, why would she betray him? When he saw her magic he knew, somebody had corrupted her with magic's evil influence. Something he had always feared for Merlin, but not her.

He didn't have long to think of this however as Morgana magically sent a discarded dagger straight for Merlin's head. Uther looked on powerless to stop it the knife hit Merlin's face near the left side. Morgana laughed as Merlin fell to his knees and then onto the ground like a puppet whose string had been cut. She then disappeared in a whirlwind of black, golden eyes fixed on the prince laying on the stone floor of the citadel.

He and Arthur made a mad dash to Merlin surprised to see him roll over and sit up with little effort. Arthur dropped to his knees helping Merlin to his feet. Uther was relieved to see the dagger had missed its target slightly, it had slashed Merlin's cheek and the side of his head, but the wound was superficial and not very deep.

"I knew she wouldn't leave till she caused some damage" merlin half smiled half winced, "From where she was standing she would only see blood on my face, so I figured if I fell down fast enough she might think she had done some serious damage. Looks like it worked"

"Go, get it bandaged" Uther replied shakily, waving his sons off before retiring to his own chambers.

He sat on the edge of his bed, his face in his hands. His heart almost shattered at the thought of Morgana. He had loved her, like his own, little did she know she was in fact his own. His daughter had defected and left him. For magic. He felt his hatred of the craft grow, even more than he thought possible.

"Father?" Came the quiet call, he looked up to see Merlin half in the doorway, the boy had a habit of never knocking. Uther felt a strange mixture of warmth and trepidation fill him at the sight of his adopted son, he had more temptation to turn to magic than Morgana. He waved him in, noticing the bandage that ran around the side of his face to cover the wound. It was superficial, however it was deep enough to leave a scar. Hopefully one that would fade with time. He stood to face him, the quickly embraced the boy.

"Don't ever turn to magic Merlin" He whispered, he could feel the boy tense at the word. He released him from the hold, the boy seemed shocked.

"I'm glad your alright" Uther breathed regaining some of his composure, "Is there a reason for your visit?"

"Well Arthur is still getting bandaged up so I figured I would come make sure you were alright" Merlin replied looking at the floor.

"I am fine" the king lied smoothly, "Go see to your brother and get some rest"

Merlin nodded heading for the door.

"Oh, Merlin?" Uther quickly added, "Morgana, really tried to have you killed?"

"She and Morgause tied me in magical chains and left me for the serkets" merlin admitted after a long moment, "The magic weakened enough for me to break the chains and fight them off"

Merlin left without another word.

Uther should of known it was Morgause who had corrupted his ward. Giving a yell of rage he punched the wall of his room. He would eliminate magic in his kingdom. He would not loose another loved ones to its clutches, he would make sure of that.

**Sorry this is so short! I'll make up for it I swear. Im off to camp in a day so you most likely wont hear anything from me for a week sorry.**

**You are probably wondering what will break Uther's spirit at the end of S3 if is not Morgana's betrayal. **

**hehehe ;) Dont you worry, its all planned out**


	8. Chapter 8: Cracks

Arthur walked down the halls at the rear of the castle as casually as he could manage. Ever since Morgana's betrayal his father had been especially tough on him and his brother, they had guards at practically every turn. Their rooms were even guarded every hour of the day. It was worse for Merlin of course because of the whole 'born with magic' problem Uther had become paranoid of Merlin going the same way as Morgana and had guards actually follow him. This had made studying his spells or practice impossible and Arthur knew how jumpy Merlin got when he magic had to be bottled up. The youngest prince had been reduced to sneaking around his own home just to get a little peace and quiet.

Arthur, knowing Merlin better than his guards ever could, found all his hiding places fairly quickly, he did his best to sneak him food so he wouldn't have to risk being seen but it was risky. Quickly checking that nobody was following him he ducked into a guest room nobody was using, well not sleeping in anyway. Merlin was seated on the floor against the bed, magic book in hand mumbling words under his breath By the stillness of the room what ever spell he was trying was failing.

"Your guards have gone mental" Arthur noted chucking Merlin a bun, 'If father finds out they lost you he'll send out knights and search parties"

"What do you want me to do?" Merlin asked through a mouthful of bread, "I can't stand being watched every second of the day, it's like having stalkers"

"He has gotten very...extreme since, well..."

"Morgana" Merlin finished cooly, Arthur hated how cold and unfeeling his voice became when talking about her, he nodded.

...

"Father these guards and restrictions are driving us mad!" Arthur complained for the third time, "It's bad enough for me but Merlin can barely go anywhere or do anything anymore"

"If Morgana was taken by magic imagine how much easier it would be for Merlin to be tempted in the same way" Uther replied, not looking up from his paper work.

"If you keep this up you are only going to create a rift" Arthur sighed, "Merlin has already resorted to sneaking around the castle just so he can have some time alone"

Uther looked up at Arthur to respond but his reply was cut off by a yell of rage from outside his door.

"I'm only going across the courtyard you don't need to escort me! I don't care what the king says, just leave, me, ALONE!"

By the echo Merlin down the other end of the hallway, Arthur gave his father a look.

"This is the same prince who gives his extra food to servant" Arthur pointed out, "You know the calm, wise, quiet one"

"Perhaps having him watched 24 hours a day was a bit harsh" Uther sighed

At that moment Merlin entered the room, slamming the door behind him before either of his 'protectors' could follow him inside.

"Father if they don't stop following me I swear I'm writing to Godwyn and asking him to hide me!" The young prince panted, obviously he had ran down the corridor in a desperate attempt to escape the guards.

"I am only trying to keep you safe, both of you" Uther rebutted, anger rising up in his voice, "You were close to Morgana, who is to say that what Morgause couldn't get to you two?"

Merlin stared at Uther with cold eyes, Arthur could practically hear the cogs in his head whirling round, Merlin was thinking hard about something.

"Because we wont" He said finally

"You can't know that!" Uther snapped, "How could you?"

"Because I hate magic!" Merlin yelled, looking at the floor, fists curled up. Arthur had to give him credit, he almost believed him himself. It worried him that Merlin was such a good liar, he just hoped he was never on the receiving end of his tales.

"It took Morgana, I hate it" Merlin continued, still not looking at either Arthur or Uther, his voice shook. Arthur knew his father would think it was out of sadness for Morgana but the prince knew better. Merlin didn't hate magic he hated pretending. Merlin stepped out of the room after that, he may be a good liar but even he had limits.

"Tell he guards they can leave him be" Uther sighed, Arthur felt a sort of revulsion at the proud look on the kings face due to what Merlin had said.

Arthur didn't bother saying goodbye to his father before leaving the room, quickly ordering the men to let Merlin be on the kings orders. As expected he found merlin curled up against the headboard of his bed, like he always was when he was upset. He could see his eyes shining with unshed tears.

"That was hard" Arthur surmised quietly, Merlin nodded, "I'm sorry it has to be this way"

"He was happy about what I said, wasn't he" Merlin answered bitterly, Arthur didn't answer. He realized all too late it was as good as agreeing.

"It will be even worse now that Morgana has betrayed us" Merlin continued to sulk, "I tried to stop her"

"I know" Arthur replied, trying to think of something reassuring, "I've got an idea"

"Yeah?"

"Tomorrow lets leave for a while, go hunting for a few days, get away from father" Arthur suggested, he knew it wasn't great but it was better than nothing. To his surprise that made Merlin laugh. Not bitterly, really laugh.

"Alright, anything to get out of the castle" He smiled, "Finally I can go somewhere without people following me!"

Arthur sighed, he couldn't believe that worked. Ever since the incident with Sigan he was becoming more and more aware of how much pressure Merlin carried, not only with his destiny as Emrys, but having to hide who he was. He remembered Merlin telling him all about Emrys after the dragon had explained it to him years ago, before the beasts betrayal. He wondered where it was now...

**I'm back from camp! So the updates will be coming in!**

**Many of you are wondering what is going to break Uther since it wasn't Morgana, don't worry I can't wait to write it!**

**I did this short chapter to show that even though his spirit didn't break, Uther is beginning to crack slightly. Also I was really tired and couldn't think of anything else XD**


	9. Chapter 9: Lancelot and Gwaine I

Getting out of the castle was a great idea and it did wonders for Merlin's mood, even if it was for hunting. However after a full day of running and riding the youngest prince found himself completely exhausted which is why he found the sight of a tavern such an inviting sight.

"You know what you need after a good days hunting Merlin?" Arthur asked

"Sleep" Came the tired princes reply

"No, a nice cold hard tankard of mead" Arthur grinned, riding down to the tavern.

"Mead..." Merlin moaned, he much preferred cider to mead but he was too tired to complain. As they rode up to the hitching post Arthur stopped him.

"Lets have some fun here" He grinned, "We wont mention who we are, its a great way to see how the people are feeling, a way you're very fond of"

"How did you know I do that?" Merlin gaped at him, Arthur just gave him a grin, he was so infuriating sometimes. The smell of alcohol was strong inside the small wooden structure as was the loud talking. People didn't pay the simple travelers a glance as they sat down at the end of a long bench.

"Afternoon!" Greeted a frizzy haired barmaid as she scrubbed the table down, "What'll it be?"

"Uh..." Arthur faltered, forcing a smile across Merlin's face as he watched his brother try and remember peasant drinks and their names.

"Hmmm, your a fellow" The barmaid smiled

"Wouldn't be the first to think so" Arthur smiled in reply

"Oh, no sorry" The woman laughed, "I was talking about your friend here"

Merlin looked up in surprise, grinning at Arthur's embarrassed face. It was very rare thr word handsome was used on him, he usually got cute much to Arthur's enjoyment.

"Thankyou" He smiled

"Two tankards of mead please" Arthur cut in dejectedly, the barmaid nodded and headed off to collect the order. Shooting Merlin a look that could only be considered jealous.

Merlin had been about to tease his arrogance when the door opened and the entire bar went silent. A gruff, dirty man entered and walked up to the bar, the silence was filled with tension.

"Afternoon Mary!" The man sneered at the barmaid who had served the princes earlier, "Bussiness looks good"

"We have our better days" The woman sighed

"Then you wont begrudge me my share then?" The man smiled, slamming a knife on the table. The woman tossed a few coins onto the table calmly.

"And the rest?"

"That's all we got"

"I won't ask again!" The man snarled grabbing the front of her frock

"Take your hands, off her" Arthur ordered calmly, the mans reply was a failed hit to the face which Arthur quickly deflected and sent the man sprawling. Merlin sipped his mead calmly.

"I'm gonna make you pay for that" The man threatened making Merlin laugh.

"I'd like to see you try!" He giggled, which resulted in the man whistling, and several well muscled and armed men entering the tavern.

"You had to open your big mouth, didn't you brother" Arthur groaned

"You two have gotten yourselves into a bit of a pickle" A man noted walking up to the leader, taking a swig from his tankard.

"I agree" Said the second man from behind

"You should get out of here while you have the chance" Arthur warned

"Your probably right" the first man sighed, finishing his mead and handing the cup to the bandits leader with a grin, then punching him in the face. Well that's all it took soon the whole bar was wrestling and turning tables. Merlin did his best to dodge most attacks, he was awfiul at hand to hand combat, Arthur tackled the leader, resulting in a dazing pinch to the face.

"Arthur!" Merlin called, trying to get through the crowd to help him, unfortunatly he was blocked by yet another thug.

"Merlin!" Arthur called from where he was pinned to the table, "Behind you!"

Quickly ducking before asking questions he felt something pass dangeruously close to his head, it turned out to be a chair which smashed against the wall.

"Ætslide bencþel!" Merlin whispered under his breath, sending a bench flying across the room effectively knocking out two of the bandits. Quickly he slid under the bar, running into the second man from before.

"Great minds think alike" The man chuckled, handing him a jar of pickled eggs and indicating to the bandits standing above them, Merlin got the idea, bringing the jar down on the bandits head.

"Merlin" He panted catching his breath.

"Lancelot" Lancelot grinned before ducking as a chair flew past. While his new ally ducked Merlin quickly sent several plates flying with his mind, barely missing Lancelot's friend who had just knocked a man to the ground and was now casually drinking out of a discarded bottle.

"What'd they call you then?" Lancelot's friend panted

"Merlin" Merlin replied feeling a little nervous at how calm, this man was in a bar fight, unlike his friend.

"Gwaine" He introduced shaking the princes hand before turning and smashing a tankard of mead over a mans head, "Such a waste"

Merlin quickly leapt over the bar, Lancelot in tow and did his best to fidn Arthur in the scuffle, horrified to see the leader now pulling out a knife, ready to stab him. The young prince had been about to jump out to protect his brother when it seems Gwaine had the same idea, knife sinking itself in his leg.

Arthur and Merlin stood there in shock as Gwaine tried to stand, before falling and hitting his head on one of the benches. Lancelot ran to his friends side checking the wound.

"How is he?" Arthur asked hurriedly

"Not good" Lancelot frowned, "He's loosing a lot of blood"

"We'll take him with us to see Gaius" Merlin offered helping Lancelot carry the injured man out, "He's a physician friend of ours"

Lancelot nodded in thanks, carfully they loaded Gwaine onto Arthur's horse before mounting it himself. The trio stood infront of the villagers and watched them throw fruit at the leader of the group, who was now safetly stored in the stocks.

"If this man ever bothers you again, word is to be sent to Camelot" Arthur ordered, "Soilders will be here within a day"

"How can you make a promise like that?" Asked Mary as Arthur rode away with Lancelot and Gwaine in tow, leaving Merlin to explain.

"Because we're the kings sons, Prince Arthur and Prince Merlin" He smiled, before riding off after Arthur and Lancelot's horses. He could just hear the bar maid exclaiming with joy.

"The princes! Merlin and Arthur in my tavern!"

**HEY HEY! **

**People have been asking me how I know how old Merlin is so here is what I think.**

**In season 4 the opening changes to "Young Man" from "Young boy". Since we known people come of age in Camelot at 21 this makes Merlin 18 when he first arrives in Camelot and he comes of age between seasons 3 and 4.**


	10. Chapter 10: Lancelot and Gwaine II

Carefully Merlin and Lancelot placed Gwaine down on what used to be Merlin's own bed all those years ago. The man didn't even flinch. Gaius quickly made his way to his shelves, gathering up water, bandages and honey.

"Will he be alright?" Arthur asked, Lancelot gave him a funny look

"If anything he's strong" Gaius noted

"He is" Arthur agreed turning to leave, "He saved my life, he is to be given anything he needs"

Lancelot's eyes followed the eldest prince as he left before they fell on his friend again with a small laugh.

"Just wait until he wakes up" lancelot sighed, "When he finds out he saved a nobel he'll feel completely stupid"

"Does Gwaine have something against nobility?" Merlin asked

"Hates them" Lancelot replied, "Don't worry, I've got nothing against it, if anything I'd like to be it"

"Strange that your friends than, the nobel hater and the nobel wannabe" Merlin remarked

"Yeah, well I want to be a knight really" Lancelot admitted, "But commoners don't become knights"

"Maybe they could" Merlin mused, "After all, a peasant became a prince"

"So those rumors are true then, you were raised as a peasant" Lancelot remarked surprised.

"Yeah, its a pretty private matter, my father tries his best to keep it quiet" Merlin sighed.

"You really refer to Uther as 'father'?"

"Well, yes" Merlin said slowly and not quite as surely as he wanted, "That is what he is to me"

...

Gwaine groaned as he awoke, Lancelot grinned as did Merlin, it was already well into the morning.

"Where am I?" Asked the very confused man

"In the physician's chambers, in Camelot" Merlin answered, "My brother and I wanted to make sure you were alright"

"Brothers..." Gwaine muttered, obviously remembering the bar fight, "Not much of a resemblance there"

"Gwaine!" Lancelot hushed, "The princes were very good to you, Arthur even said you were to be given anything you desire"

"I saved a prince" Gwaine groaned looking annoyed, Merlin suddenly felt very uncomfortable.

"Arthur's a bit of a prat but he's a good man" Merlin argued, "He was always fair back when I was his servant, tough but fair"

"I thought you were his brother" Gwaine argued raising an eyebrow.

"It's a long story" Merlin waved his hand, "no matter, my father wants to thank you personally"

Gwaine choked on the water Lancelot had given him before shaking his head with a look of revulsion.

"No thanks, I've met a few kings" He laughed, "Once you've met one you've met them all"

"You might get a reward" Lancelot pointed out

"Not interested" Gwaine reminded him, Lancelot rolled his eyes.

"He might not be grateful but I am" Lancelot nodded, "Thankyou for helping us"

They were a strange pair of friends Merlin had to admit. From what he had seen and the discussions he had with Lancelot through the night it seemed they were very different people. Gwaine was forever dragging Lancelot from tavern to tavern, getting into bar fights and making snarky and rude comments to anyone and every one regardless of who they were. Lancelot on the other hand was respectful, kind and wise, Merlin had no doubt that he talked Gwaine out of many dangerous situations with his level head.

...

"Knights from all over Albion are flooding in our gates for that stupid malay" Merlin noted,leaning out Arthur window down at the square filled with knights.

"The malay is not stupid" Arthur retorted, "Its a display or courage, endurance and bravery"

"Where we run around hitting each other with blunt weapons?" Merlin retorted holding up the dulled sword

"You mean me, you got knocked out in the third round last year" Arthur snorted

"Yes but which one of us had to spend the next three weeks looking like they were covered in plum juice?" Merlin retorted with a grin, quickly ducking when Arthur's goblet flew at his head.

"Look Sir's Oswald and Ethan have arrived" Arthur smiled, he had very much enjoyed his duel with the former last year, "Lets go meet them"

Quickly the two princes steps out into the courtyard, Arthur happily greeted the two.

"Didn't think you'd be brave enough to show up this year" Arthur jibed

"I wouldn't miss a chance to knock you down" Oswald commented

"You haven't managed it yet"

"That was then, this is now"

"Alright..." Arthur trailed off, Oswald had hardened over the past year, "This is my brother Merlin, you didn't get formally introduced last year"

The knights roughly shook the young warlocks hand before turning their attention back to Arthur. Obviously there were still people who thought him unworthy of his title.

"Merlin will show you to your rooms" Arthur offered, Merlin narrowed his eyes at him.

...

After an exhausting hour helping the two knights with their luggage Merlin's arms were aching. It was almost like he was a servant again, why the knights had ordered that he was to have no help he had no idea. Sure he was a prince and could over rule them but they already had enough spite for him, he didn't need to fuel the fire.

He had been hoping to get a little rest when Gwen came and found him, saying it was important. He could never of guessed.

"You drank all of this?" He exclaimed looking at the bill Gwaine had worked up.

"With some help from my new friend!" He slurred, half hanging off Lancelot, the latter gave him an apologetic look. Merlin sighed and quickly paid for the huge list of alcohol and pickled eggs before helping Lancelot with his severally drunk friend.

"He did it to spite you, sorry" Lancelot sighed, "Nobles..."

Gwaine shot Merlin a look of intense amusement which quickly turned to surprise when Merlin burst out laughing as soon as Gwaine was back in Gaius chambers.

"You're not annoyed?" Gwaine gaped

"Of course I am, that doesnt mean that was hilarious!" Merlin said finally, "I mean, money is money, its not that important and its not every day you see somebody so drunk they can't even stand!"

"Your father will be inpressed" Lancelot smirked

"Alright" He sighed, "What is it with you and nobles?"

"Nothing, my father was a knight!" Merlin hadn't seen that one coming, "In Carleon's army, he died in battle, when my mother went tot he king for help, he did nothing, been poor ever since"

"You never knew your father?" Merlin questioned.

"Just stories I've been told" Gwaine admitted

"Yeah, know how that feels..." Merlin muttered, thinking of his leather strap tucked safely in his draw back in his chambers.

"So its true then, your adopted into the royal family!" Gwaine grinned, obviously liking Merlin more for it.

"Gwaine!" Lancelot hushed

"It's alright" Merlin smiled weakly, "My mother died when I was born and my father was a dragonlord so, he was killed by Camelot knights. Uther found me and decided that since I was only a baby I didn't deserve to die"

"So that man you call father killed you actual father?" Gwaine snorted

"Not personally" Merlin defended

"Merlin!" The yelled echoed through the castle, Uther was angry.

"I think he just heard how much money I spent at the Tavern..."

**Sorry for the slow update!**


	11. Chapter 11: Lancelot and Gwaine III

"Fourteen quarts of mead" Uther growled, "Three flagons of wine, five quarts of cider-"

"I can explain" Merlin tried meekly, Uther ignored him

"Four dozen pickled eggs!"

"That was Gwaine" Merlin explained, "He went to the tavern and...couldn't pay for it...so I did"

"I will not have you squandering our money on such frivolous things!" Uther roared, Merlin swore he heard the castle shake.

"I'll earn it back" Merlin tried, "I'll work or something"

"You most certainly will" Growled Uther, why did Merlin get the feeling he was going to regret saying that?

...

"Bloody king" Gwaine growled

"Shut up and work this is your own doing" Lancelot grumbled, scrubbing some particularly stubborn dirt of a boot.

"I think it's fair" Merlin sighed, picking up another boot, Gwaine stared at him.

"The entire army!" He exclaimed, "It'll take us hours to scrub all these boots!"

"If you'd admit your father was a knight you wouldn't have to" Merlin noted, Lancelot scoffed. The prince found himself growing in respect for the more responsible man, he had offered to help them even though the king had not ordered him to be punished as well.

"I'm not making that mistake" Gwaine grumbled dusting off yet another boot.

"I can't believe Uther has his own son polishing boots" Lancelot piped up giving Merlin a smile.

"Tough but fair" The prince repeated, Gwaine snorted

"If there is one thing I ever learnt from my fathers life, it's that titles mean nothing" He said proudly "It's whats on the inside that counts. And you Merlin, you've got the spirit to match your title, I don't know about Arthur. Not yet"

...

Arthur couldn't help but laugh when he found out why Merlin was skipping practice today. Not because he was sick, but because he was polishing boots. He was still chuckling to himself while he practiced on the training dummy down in the fields.

"You look like you could use some practice" Came a voice, Arthur turned to see Oswald standing behind him.

"You think so?" He challenged

"I know so"

Arthur spread his arms our, openly inviting the knights challenge, he was the best swordsman in the kingdom, he was not afraid. Oswald nodded over his servant Turner and accepted the sword the man offered him. Arthur couldn't help but notice the arrogance the knight had picked up over the last year.

A second later swords clashed, not only had the knight gained arrogance he had lost some of his famed skills, Arthur quickly took the lead without even breaking a sweat. Instead of the graceful style of a knight Oswald was now fighting with the ferocity of a bandit, heavy on the offense and very little defense.

"You're rusty" Arthur jibed, "Not as quick as you used to be"

"Still quick enough to hit you!" The man threatened, ducking out of the block and heading toward Arthur's stomach, which the prince dodged with ease. Arthur turned to strike when he noticed something even stranger than Oswald's sudden attitude change.

"Aren't you left handed?" The prince asked, indicating to the sword in the knights right hand.

"I...just wanted to give you a chance" The knight quipped quickly switching hands and coming at his once more, "Why don't we make this more interesting"

"What do you have in mind?"

"Fifty gold coin, first hit" Oswald challenged, Arthur just smiled.

"Make it a hundred he dared, before swiftly dodging yet another poor attack and tapping the man casually on the chest with his lance, "You can keep your money"

...

Merlin couldn't wait for this day to be over, not only had his father ordered he help Gwaine with the boots but he was now in charge of making sure all the knights visiting from the torments had an official visit. Usually He, Uther and Arthur all split up and took a few but this time Merlin had the job all to himself. Arthur had laughed when he heard the news, unlike his brother the elder prince was having a fantastic day, despite the fact that Oswald had become so different over the past year. It was taking him hours to get through each knight, pretending he wasn't bored by all the stories he had to sit through. Sighing with a mixture of relief and apprehension he entered the last chambers for the day. Oswald and Ethan's.

He wasn't sure if he was angry or thankful that the knights were not in their rooms. Obviously they were still on the training field, he'd have to come back later. As he turned to go he couldn't help but notice two swords laying on the table, why wouldn't they take their swords to training with them? That question was answered when he picked one up to examine it, completely blunt. He chuckled laying it down on the table, surprised to find that his finger was easily sliced open by the 'dull' edge.

"What are you doing in here?" Oswald growled, picking the perfect time to return to the room.

"I was simply looking for you" Merlin sighed, "Royal visit and all"

He quickly judged from the look on the knights face that he wanted that as much as Merlin did and the prince quickly made himself scarce. Heading down to Gaius's for a bandage which the physician quickly applied.

"The sword looked blunt" Merlin finished explaining the story "But when I touched it..."

"You were lucky" Gwaine piped up from where he was sitting still looking hung over, "I've seen those blades in action, they're forged using magic"

"Why would they want them?" Gaius wondered allowed, Merlin remembered the story of Oswald on the training field that morning with Arthur.

"I think that he means to kill Arthur in the malay" Merlin muttered, "Arthur told me OSwald and Ethan have been acting very differently, maybe they turned on him"

"What makes you say Arthur?" Lancelot asked

"If they wanted to kill anybody else they would of on the way to Camelot, the malay is the perfect way to kill the prince" Merlin theorized, "Getting to Arthur any other time is hard, killing him in the malay, they can pretend it was an accident"

"Even you can't convict a knight without any proof at all" Gaius pointed out, "Your father would believe you but the court would never stand for it"

"Then we need to get those blades" Merlin decided

"I'm going to help!" Gwaine announced grinning ear to ear

"Of course" Lancelot sighed

"If I get to piss off a nobel it's worth it!"

**Sorry I'm being so slow lately!**


	12. Chapter 12: Lancelot and Gwaine IV

"We can steal the blades form their room, it will be simple enough to present them to the king as proof" Lancelot suggested, Merlin nodded in agreement.

"I'll get them" Gwaine offered but was quickly shot down by the prince.

"What reason would you have to be in their chambers?" He questioned, "I'll go, I'm a prince I don't need an excuse"

"If you are not back here in 10 minutes I'm coming after you" Gwaine assured him. Merlin beamed. For somebody who claimed to hate royalty, Gwaine had the loyalty and spirit of a great knight.

...

Quietly the prince slunk into the knights chambers under cover of darkness, the knights snoring softly, oblivious to his presence. The swords were no longer on the table, great now he would have to search for them. He started with the chest not far from Oswald's bed, it would seem the most obvious place. The lid opened, creaking lightly, Merlin smiled when the familiar glint of the 'blunt' sword met his eyes, reaching out to grab it, almost dropping the lance when Oswald moaned in his sleep, turning over to face Merlin.

The strange glowing stone around his neck caught the princes eye. It gave off a hint of magic, how odd. Part of his brain chastised him for putting down the sword but his curiosity got the best of him, he looked into the crystal to see a reflection of the sleeping knight. No wait, it wasn't the knight, it was the thug from the tavern! His eyes open. Eyes open...uh oh.

The thug grabbed his wrist, he still outwardly looked like Oswald but now Merlin knew better. Quickly he pulled back and somehow backed himself into a wall. Stupid! He ducked as a knife flew through the air at his head.

"Stop that!" He ordered, his voice held very little authority though and another knife sliced though the wall next to his head.

"Don't you know it's against the law to attack a prince" Gwaine asked walking int the room casually. When Lancelot didn't follow him Merlin stomach did a flip, no telling what Gwaine would do and as much as he disliked the men, he didn't want them killed in cold blood.

"Get out of here!" Ethan ordered

"No" Gwaine smiled defiantly,

"How dare you speak to a knight like that!" Ethan yelled drawing his sword and lunging at Gwaine, who had also drawn his sword, Merlin's hand went to his belt, he didn't bring his, only his throwing knife. Quickly Gwaine disarmed Ethan but had his back turned to Oswald.

"Careful!" Merlin yelled stepping between them not really thinking the action through. He was vaguely aware of Gwaine's eyes widening as something, most likely the hilt of 'Oswald's' sword coming down on the back of his head heavily. After wars his vision was filled with stars and finally nothing.

...

Uther stormed up the hallway with Arthur and Sir Leon in tow, the sounds of swords clashing together could clearly be heard from Oswald and Ethan's chamber. The guards had alerted him some minutes ago and since the fight could still be heard, the brawl must be a heated one.

Whatever he had expected to find in the knights chamber it had not been this. Ethan was getting to his feet as a man, the same man he had punished earlier that day, Gabe or something was pointing a sword at Sir Oswald's chest. However it was not this that worried him. His vision soon fell upon Merlin who was laying on the floor unconscious with a worrying amount of blood seeping through the hair on he back on his head. Arthur was at his side in seconds, carefully turning him onto his back and pressing his palm lightly against the wound.

"What happened here!" Uther roared eyeing everybody in the room.

Oswald reacted by slapping the commoner around the face, resulting in his fall to the ground.

"He attacked us sire" OSwald answered, "The prince came to our aid but this, thug, bought the hilt of his sword down on him"

"It's true sire" Ethan spoke up, "I can vouch for his every word"

"You not only attacked two nobles, but my son!" Uther growled

"I stepped in to help Merlin!" The commoner yelled, "These men are not who they claim to be!"

"Be silent!" The king ordered, "How dare you speak to nobility that way! I will have you hanged"

"No father!" Arthur spoke up from his position near Merlin's paling form, "Gwaine saved us both the other day, I don't believe he would hurt Merlin on purpose, not after helping us the way he did"

"These men are arrogant thugs!" Gwaine yelled, having to be restrained by Sir Leon

"I have heard enough" The king announced, "I banish you, thank my son for that, I'd have you killed were it not for his judgement!"

"Guards, get Gaius!" Arthur ordered as the blood began to seep through his fingers. The king could of been wrong but he was sure he saw Arthur mouth the words _I'm Sorry, _to Gwaine as he was dragged past, no doubt to be dropped off at the castle gates.

...

Arthur heard the doors to the physicians chamber open, his heart leapt when he saw Gwen enter however it quickly clenched with guilt when Gwaine followed her.

"Gwaine I-"

"It's alright" He waved Arthur off as he gathered his things, "You offered to speak up for me, that's more than I ever expected of a noble"

Lancelot stood up and walked over to Gwaine and began packing his things much to the latters surprise.

"What? You think I'm going to let you be banished alone?" Lancelot grinned, "Come on, before we get ourselves beheaded"

Gwen made her way over to Arthur, their fingers laced themselves together without the pair even noticing until, Gwaine gave a snicker and Arthur felt lot of blood go to his face.

"How is he?" She asked quietly, glancing down at Merlin's form on the bed, a large bandage now wrapped around his head.

"Gaius says he's lucky, any harder and his skull could of fractured" Arthur sighed, "He will be out for at least a day"

"It wasn't me" Gwaine insisted, "It was Oswald!"

"I believe you" Arthur sighed, "I can't convince my father though, I'll just have to hit Ethan and Oswald extra hard tomorrow"

"You can't they are cheating!" Lancelot pipped up much to Arthur's surprise, "They have fake magical swords that look blunt but are actually sharp, we were trying to get them for evidence"

"Well, I will just try and order a search of their chambers" Arthur growled, wanting nothing more than to make those men suffer.

**Sorry!**

**I know this update is super slow but the fact is im super busy with getting back to boarding school and all, plus I am way into Sherlock at the moment and its hard to write Merlin so I decided rather than give you guys crappy chapters I would wait until I felt the passion again. It just took a while. **


	13. Chapter 14:Lancelot and Gwaine V

Arthur, along with several guards stormed into the chamber of the two knights who jumped up as the door slammed against the cold stone door.

"I have reason to believe you are using enchanted blades in the malay tomorrow" Arthur growled, "Show them to me!"

To his utter surprise the two men didn't seem at all fazed by the search, every weapon they turned up was indeed truly blunt, not a single magical item to be found, could Merlin, Lancelot and Gwaine of been wrong? He shouldn't of waited so long to do this search, Gwaine and Lancelot had already been kicked out of the city and were heading for the borders as was the kings order.

Feeling stupid for not thinking this through the prince hid his face from the smug smiles of Oswald and Ethan. They knew he knew about their weapons, Arthur also knew they had some how hidden them until the time was right and he had no proof, nothing to stop them competing and nothing to prove he should pull out. He just couldn't give up! He would be laughed out of Camelot if he backed out of the competition. Somewhere in the back on his brain a small voice that sounded like Merlin told him to damn his pride. He couldn't listen to it.

He wishes Merlin would wake up already, their father's sanity had been some what questionable since Morgana's betrayal and this wasn't helping, the king was one big ball of rage.

...

Arthur began to dress as Turner laid out his chain mail and armor for the malay. Merlin had slept through the night with Uther watching over him for most of it. Gaius assured him there was nothing to worry about and that Merlin would most likely be awake by the end of the competition. Secretly Arthur was glad, at least now Merlin wouldn't have to take part in a game he hated.

"Ah Arthur" Uther greeted, entering the room with a long roll of cloth, "I trust you are ready for the challenge?"

"Yes father" Arthur replied as confidently as possible

"I came to bring you this" Uther smiled unwrapping the material to reveal a dull and scratched sword, "I won my malay with this blade, the edge is dull it's perfectly safe"

"Thankyou" Arthur swallowed feeling the weight on his shoulders growing.

"With Merlin out of the competition, all of Camelot is eager for your victory today" Uther added, placing his hand on his sons shoulder, unaware of the immeasurable pressure he was adding.

...

Merlin groggily found himself becoming aware of his surroundings, he could tell he was in a bed with one hell of a headache that was for sure. The closer he got to full consciousness the less he wanted to succeed as the pain became stronger every second. Eventually though he decided it was best to at least try and see where he was.

cracking his eyes open he found himself in his own chambers, under the warm covers of his bed. It was insanely tempting to float back into sleep once more but the thought of Gwaine and the enchanted blades made him think other wise.

"Will...?" He called groggily, sitting up and patting the white bandage wrapped around his head, finding the tender part at the back of his head.

"Sire!" William greeted happily, appearing from the doorway, "You're awake!"

"Yeah...where is everybody?" The prince asked, just now noticing th faint sound of cheering.

"At the malay sire" William answered, "Arthur seemed really nervous"

"Arthur, nervous?" Merlin questioned, his brain finally catching up, "Gwaine and Lancelot, did they?"

"Don't worry sire, they have been banished" William replied, getting out the princes clothes.

"What?" Merlin cried jumping out of bed a little too fast and stumbling slightly.

"Oswald told everybody about Gwaine attacking you..." The servant said looking confused. Merlin felt as if a bucket of ice had been dropped over him. Daggar was in the contest! He was going to kill Arthur!

"I've got to go!" Merlin cried quickly throwing his clothes on and running down the hall, his head gave a throb of protest but he swiftly ignored it. He stepped out into the field full of bright tents in which the knights had changed, from the sounds coming from a few of them, at least half were out of the competition and injured now. His stomach clentched at the sound of gasps from the crowed not to far away.

The warlock pulled up against the fence to see only a few knights left, one was Arthur, two were 'Ethan' and 'Oswald', but he didn't recognize the last. However he was grateful to see him disarm Ethan and sending his plunging to the floor unconscious. A smile plastered itself on his face as he watched Arthur and the stranger fight against the evil bandit, finally taking him down.

He recognised that rougish style, his thoughts were confimred as Gwaine slid the helmet off, grinning at Arthur who returned the favour.

"Should of known" Arthur smiled, "Nobody fights like you do"

The happy moment was ruined as Uther stood, full of fury, ordering the guards to seize their friend. Merlin wasn't surprised to see Lancelot jump into the ring to defend his friend, as did he. Everybody was surprised to see Merlin up and awake, let along running across the training feild to defend his 'attacker'.

"They lied" Mrlin defended, "Gwaine was helping me, Oswald and Ethan are fakes!"

mummbling broke out among the crowd, Uther glared down at the small group.

"It's true" Lancelot spoke up, stapping the chains and holding up the crystals while Gwaine ripped the helmets off the two men, who were now long dead. Revealing their true faces.

"Their swords are magical!" Merlin declared, he saw Uther stiffen at the word, "They only appear blunt, they wanted to kill Arthur"

"Once again I owe these two my life" Arthur proclaimed, "You can't punish them for that"

"Fine" Uther growled, clearly embarassed, "They are free to go"

The king stormed off to the castle leaving the four friends grinning ear to ear.

...

"What do you mean your leaving?" Merlin cried as Lancelot and Gwaine saddled their horses.

"You and Arthur, you are good people" Gwaine argued, "But while Uther rules, I don't think Camelot is much of a home for me"

"And I can't leave him on his own" Lancelot sighed, "He'd get himself killed"

"You are welcome any time though" Arthur offered, "You're not banished anymore"

"We know" Gwaine smiled, "We're grateful, if you ever need help, send word"

"We will" Merlin agreed sadly, he didn't want to see his friends leave just yet. They had only just met. The princes waved the two men off as headed back to the castle, they had almost made it to their rooms when the heard their fathers yell of rage. Apparently he had noticed the stable was now missing two of it's best horses...

**Sorry I'm so slow!**

**Ive just started year 12 and the work load is so heavy, by the time I finish all my work and study Im so exhuasted that I just fall asleep. Ive been trying to write a little bit every day, even if it's only a few lines.**


	14. Chapter 14:Telling the Truth

Guilt, was something Merlin was becoming very accustomed to in his life. Though it had been months since the great dragon had saved his life he didn't have to courage to tell Arthur the beast was still alive. He knew he would have to eventually though. What if he needed to call on Kilgharah in battle? What would Arthur say then?

He kept putting off, saying he would defiantly tell Arthur tomorrow, then the next day...or the day after that. Till eventually he managed to build up the courage one night to go and talk to him, knocking on his door nervously before entering, much to his brothers surprise.

"Merlin! You never knock" Arthur greeted

"I want you to come riding with me tomorrow" Merlin spat out, Arthur raised an eyebrow in suspicion.

"Uh, sure" He shrugged, "Why are you so nervous about going riding?"

"I...need to introduce you to somebody" Merlin said awkwardly, making Arthur snicker.

"You haven't decided to elope with somebody have you?" Arthur teased making Merlin blush.

"God no!" He rebutted, "I just want you to meet a friend of mine, he is a little...different"

"Have you been meeting with druids?" Arthur asked, "I know they are peaceful and all but they can be dangerous, remember Alvar?"

"No no he's not a druid!" Merlin sighed exasperated, "Just, come with me tomorrow, I'll explain everything"

...

"So what is your friends name?" Arthur asked trying to lighten the mood, He had not seen Merlin so nervous since Morgana's return when he though she would tell Uther about trying to poison her.

"Kilgharrah" Merlin replied, Arthur felt his eye brows shoot up to his hair line. What sort of name is that?

"Sounds magical" He added subtly, he had been trying to goad his brother into revealing something about this 'friend' but so far Merlin had remained tight lipped. They continued to ride in silence until they reached the a large clearing a few miles from Camelot, the city was obscured by the trees.

"Alright, I'll call him" Merlin sighed, "Promise you won't freak out?"

"Ummm sure..." Arthur sighed, feeling weird. This feeling sky rocketed when Merlin opened his mouth and positively roared in ghiberish.

"What the hell was that!" Arthur yelled, in the back of his mind he knew he had heard Merlin say similar words before but he couldn't place where. He got his answer when a huge shadow loomed over the valley, Arthur could only stand, mouth wide as his eyes in surprise as the dragon landed softly in the grass.

"I thought you sent him away" Arthur growled, positively glaring at his brother.

"He saved me from the serkets" Merlin tried weakly, Arthur still glaring at him.

"Fear not young Pendragon, I will not attack your city" Kilgharah cut in, "Merlin has made sure of that"

"How could you keep this from me?" Arthur yelled, ignoring Kilgharah completely, and considering his size and the fact that he's a dragon thats a pretty impressive thing to do.

"I wanted to tell you really I did" Merlin mumbled, "I just didn't know how"

"Why do you keep so many secrets!" Arthur contiued, "I trust you but sometimes I question why"

That had hurt. A lot. Arthur could see it in Merlin's eyes. Deep down he knew Merlin told him as much as he could, only keeping things from him when he felt he had to but his temper was getting the best of him.

"Calm yourself Arthur" The dragon chided

"You wont hurt anybody in Camelot" Arthur confirmed glaring at the beast with as much hate as he could muster, "You'll do what he says?"

"Yes" The dragon nodded, "Also, I am sorry"

"What?" Arthur's glare fell, replaced with a mask of shock. The dragon was, appologising?

"I had been imrisoned for twenty years, I wanted revenge" He stated, "On your father, I should not of killed innocent people"

"No you shouldn't of" Merlin growled before letting his face sofen a little, "Kilgharah is a good dragon Arthur, really"

It was just like Merlin, he couldn't stay angry at people, or dragon apparently. He was looking up at the beasts face with the same softness and compassion he did his friends and family. Then again, Dragonlords were family to their dragons weren't they?

"I...understand" He said finally, "About you not telling me, I'm sorry I yelled at you Merlin"

"It's alright" He beamed, "Kilgharah will rub off on you, you'll see!"

"Indeed, I wanted to give you something" The dragon said suddenly serious, revealing a small object hidden in his talons. A small pure white whistle in the shape of a dragons head the size of a small fist. He dropped it into the eldest princes hands much to his surprise.

"Merlin can call upon me at any time, you cannot" The dragon stated, "Now, if Merlin ever needs my help and cannot call me himself, you can summon me"

"Thankyou" Arthur breathed, still in awe of the beautiful object, "Is, this made of dragon bone?"

"Carved by dragonlords, for their families" Kilghrah nodded, "I've had this one for some time"

Arthur felt a little repelled that he was holding a tool forged from dead dragon, but it was indeed beautiful. He was tempted to blow it now to see what it sounded like but he knew it was childish.

"Understand, this is not for anything less than an emergency" The dragon said seriously, "Do not abuse this"

"I won't" Arthur promised, still amazed that the dragon would give him a gift of such great value. Esspecially after the greeting he had given. He couldn't honestly say he liked the dragon. Not yet, but for now he would put up with him if he had to for Merlin's sake. It wasn;t as if he would be seeing him every day, odds are he wouldn;t even come with his brother to talk to him. It wasn;t a huge sacrifice. Who knows maybe Kilghrah would grow on him in time.

**Sorry this chapter is so short, I wanted to go straight onto the Crystal Cave cause its my fave episode but I needed this done pretty soon. I have had it for a hile but Fanfiction isn't letting me sign in!**


	15. Chapter 15: The Crystal Cave I

The princes ran through the forest, twigs ripping at the cloth left uncovered by their chain mail and armor. They ran for their lives. Arthur could hear the battle cries of the bandits behind them, at least two dozen, they didn't stand a chance if they got caught. He was stronger than his brother, he could run with the heavy armor for hours if need be but Merlin was beginning to fall behind.

"Come on!" Arthur urged glancing back, "You have to keep running!"

The two slid into a ditch, the younger leant against it panting while the elder looked for their attackers.

"See, I told you we'd loose them" Arthur grinned

"Are you sure?" Merlin asked through gasps.

"Why is it you never trust me?" Arthur grinned before being interrupted by yet another bout of yelling from the bandits who had spotted them. Quickly Arthur pushed Merlin out of the ditch and back into the forest.

"Where are we going?" Merlin yelled as he ducked an arrow

"Trust me!" Arthur implored, taking the lead over a ridge between two boulders.

"Arthur!" Merlin cried, the prince whipped around praying Merlin hadn't been hit, instead he found Merlin standing perfectly still, a look of fear on his face, staring at the Entrance Valley of the Fallen Kings.

"Come on Merlin what are you doing?" Arthur argued grabbing him by the arm and pulling him into the valley. The cries became echos in the foggy valley, Merlin walked after his brother tentatively.

"Is this The Valley of the Fallen Kings?" He asked, he seemed scared.

"Don't worry Merlin, there is no such thing as curses" Arthur teased, "But bandits don't know that, they wont dare follow us"

"I don't think they need to" Merlin replied pointing to the top of the valley where several bandits with cross bows stood, aiming at the pair, "Run!"

They were off again but not for long. Arthur felt a stab of pain from his back that sent him flying, dazed into the ground. He was vaguely aware of Merlin looping his arm around him trying to lift him up.

"What was tha'?" Arthur slurred feeling dizzy

"An arrow" Merlin replied

"Oh good, for a moment I thought it was something terrible..." He barely managed to get the words out before everything faded away.

...

Getting Arthur to safety had not been an easy task, now he leaned back against the rocks in the small crevasse where he had taken refuge, his brother leaning on his side. Trying to make him as comfy as possible the younger prince held his breath as he ripped the arrow and discarded it, Arthur gave a small grunt of pain when the arrow was removed but remained still. Merlin quickly built a fire and began making a healing poultice like Gaius had taught him, heating it in the fire. Gently he pressed the small leafy bundle to his brothers head, saddened to see there was no response.

"Come on..." he urged, "Dollop head"

Still nothing, that always got a rise out of Arthur.

"I need you to recover!" Merlin implored, he'd have to do magic, "Þurhhæle dolgbenn"

He cursed the fact that he was terrible at healing magic, it was his destiny to protect Arthur yet he could only heal the simplest of wounds. He tried several other spells but none had any effect! Arthur was dying right before his eyes and he couldn't do anything!

"Licsar ge staðol nu!" He tried, forcing as much magic into the wound as he could, "Listen to me you clotpole, I don't care if you die, there are plenty of other princes I could have as brothers. You're not the only, pompous, supercilious, condescending royal imbecile you know"

Nothing worked, Merlin blinked back tears. He couldn't get Arthur to Camelot in time, the only thing he could do was sit with him and wait. After a while a light rain began, filling the tiny holes in the ground with water. Sighing, Merlin got up to wash the blood from his hands. Arthur's blood. Quietly he sobbed as he cleaned his hands, a voice that sounded like his brother telling him not to be such a girl.

"Tell me" Came a voice, making Merlin look up at a man standing a few feet away, "Why are you so sad?"

"It's my brother" Merlin explained, whipping his eyes, "He's dying I can't help him..."

"Then do not waste your tears" The kind white haired man replied, "I can tell you that the time for him to die is not yet upon us"

"My name is Talisen" The man continued, walking to Arthur's side.

"I'm Merlin-"

"I know who you are" Talisen interrupted, "The moment of our meeting has been written for many, many years. You are Emrys"

As he spoke Talisen rolled Arthur onto his side carefully. Resting his palm, as Merlin had done, on the wound.

"Wel cene hole"

To his delight, Merlin watched as the colour returned to Arthur's face. He rolled onto his back again, settling down into the pillow Merlin had made from his coat.

"Arthur?"

"He is sleeping" Talisen explained, "within hours he will be fully recovered"

"Thankyou" Merlin sighed

"Come, I want to show you something Merlin" Talisen smiled

"What?" Called the prince as his new companion walked away.

"You will have to wait and see!"

Looking guiltily down at Arthur Merlin sighed, making a silent promise to return as quickly as possible, and followed after Talisen.

...

"Where are we going?" Asked Merlin after a few minutes as Talisen walked up into a small cave, "Why have you bought me here?"

"All in good time" Grinned the man, "You will discover all"

The man lead Merlin inside the cave, Merlin had expected it to be dark but to his surprise the entire cavern was filled with the pale white light of hundreds of crystals.

"What is this place?" He breathed

"This is the Crystal Cave" Talisen replied, "The birthplace of magic"

Something about this place made Merlin nervous, his instincts told him this was a bad place, but also that he had to be there. He couldn't leave not yet. Hesitantly he walked down the steps formed in rock, peering at the strange white crystals, gasping as clear pictures began to form.

_Morgana on Camelot's throne..._

_An old man being walked to his death..._

Merlin forced himself to look away, it was the Crystal of Neahtid all over again!

"What is it you see?" Talisen asked

"Images...flashes" Merlin replied, "Like in the Crystal of Neahtid"

"This cave is where that very crystal was hue" Talisen replied, it's not a surprise. These crystals will show you time itself. Look into them Emrys"

Once again Merlin felt the draw that the crystals had, just like Neadtid did. Forcing him to look, he resisted.

"No!" He cried, feeing frightened, "take me, out of here. How do I get back to Arthur?"

"The future is hidden to all but a very few Emrys" Talisen argued, "You are one of those few. They contain futures unique to you, there is a reason you were bought here at this moment in time"

"What reason?"

"Only the Crystals can tell you that. Use what you see for good"

dreading what he was about to see Merlin looked and once again pictures began to form...

_Morgana holding an ornate dagger..._

_She was walking in the castle..._

_Somebody's fingers were dripping red..._

_Himself, surrounded by fire, roaring, eyes bright gold..._

Merlin threw himself away, the final image frightened him more than anything else ever had. Unfortunately the wall in which he fell back on had a crystal at his height and before he knew it...

_Morgana walking the castle grounds..._

_Arthur crying..._

_Morgana with a dagger..._

_Himself filled with rage..._

Uther asleep, Morgana by his side, unsheathing her knife, holding it above her head...

Merlin forced his eyes closed, clutching his head as he fell to the ground. It was too much! Everywhere he looked, more crystals...

_Morgana, her knife raised..._

_The knife came down..._

_Killing the king..._

The flow stopped, no more images came. Merlin's breath was shaky.

"What...was that?" He breathed, in a barely audible voice, but Talisen was gone.

"What was that!"

**Man that was a long chapter!**


	16. Chapter 16: The Crystal Cave II

Merlin's head hurt. After a few minutes he had managed to stagger to his feet and make it back to Arthur who was stirring. His first instinct was to keep his meeting with Talisen and visions a secret from his brother but then he remembered Arthur's anger when he had revealed the dragon. He'd be so angry if Merlin kept secrets from him again, and this was important. He was broken out of his catatonic state by his jacket hitting him in the back of his head. Arthur grinned at him, Merlin attempted a weak smile.

"Listen Merlin, I'm fine really" Arthur insisted obviously mistaking Merlin's state for guilt about his injury, "Your magic healed me up fine"

Merlin took a deep breath.

"I didn't heal you" He said quietly, "Talisen did"

"Who's Talisen?" Asked Arthur suddenly serious.

"A warlock like me, at least that's what he felt like" Merlin replied, "He healed you, I wasn't strong enough. He took me to this, place, the Crystal Cave. The birthplace of magic"

"It sounds great!" Arthur said enthusiastically, god he was so ignorant when it came of magic!

"It wasn't" Merlin snapped, "It was an entire room filled with crystals like the Neahtid"

"Oh God" Arthur paled, clearly remembering Merlin's reaction to just one powerful magical rock. Let alone an entire room full. Merlin just nodded and started walking back in the direction of the city.

"Hey! Merlin!" Arthur yelled chasing after him, "What did you see, come on slow down!"

"I saw Morgana" Merlin yelled, not looking at Arthur, focusing on getting back home to make sure what he had seen hadn't already come to pass. Sure he didn't get on with his father all the time but he didn't want him to die! Especially not at Morgana's hand, he was ashamed to admit, even if it was just to himself that Morgana made his blood boil. He had never hated anybody before, but maybe he was starting to.

That scared him.

…

"That arrow didn't pierce my armour but I was knocked out by the fall" Arthur finished his fabricated version of the vets that took place, "Merlin found us a haven and kept me safe until I awoke, the bandits must have a camp in the White Mountains"

"You did well" Uther praised at Merlin before turning to the knights, "Dispatch a search party, take care of those bandits"

"I think I'll just go see Gaius, make sure this bruising wont stop me from training" Arthur lied easily quickly excusing himself and Merlin to the hall. Gaius would play along as soon as they told him what had happened. Right now he had more important things on his mind.

"You said you saw Morgana" He confirmed, Merlin nodded.

"She's coming Arthur, she will try and kill father" Merlin said worriedly, "I don't know when but Talisen said it was important I saw those visions, it must be soon"

"You're going to obsess over this aren't you?" Arthur sighed

"We have to keep an eye out, that's all" Merlin said uncomfortably.

…

The next few nights were awful for Merlin. He spent each night wandering the corridors, close to the king's quarters. He kept a close eye out, letting his magic branch out trying to sense the slightest bit of magic flowing through the air. He was completely exhausted obviously, the little sleep he got was in his room after training. He could tell Arthur was worried about him.

Uther had been in a terrible mood all week because Morgana's birthday was coming up. This mixed with his already fragile mental state made him increasingly bitter. However even he soon began to notice Merlin's quiet and saddened mood. Much of his colour had drained and the skin around his eyes was purple with lack of sleep.

"Merlin are you well?" The king asked on the third day looking concerned.

"I'm just sad, it's almost Morgana's birthday and all" Merlin lied. He felt bad being so manipulative but it was for his fathers own good.

Then one night as he leant against the cool stone, trying to force himself not to fall asleep he felt it. Powerful magic, manifesting on the balcony not far from him. Morgana's magic! She was here! He ran, suddenly wide awake, rushing with adrenaline he ran toward it. Then he saw her. Red, velvet cloak, dagger that Arthur had given her for her birthday two years ago in hand. Heading for the kings chamber.

"Morgana!"

She spun around, eyes full of rage at being interrupted. Even more so that it was he.

"Come to protect daddy have we?" She sneered, Merlin glared.

"Atrice!" Morgana yelled, sending him flying backwards into the cold stone wall, Morgause had been teaching her. For a moment Merlin considered using magic but then he got a better idea. The longer Morgana remained ignorant to his power the better.

"Guards!" He yelled, "Sound the warning bell, wake the king!"

Morgana cursed, Merlin smiled. She was powerful yes, but alone. She had been relying on the element of surprise to kill Uther, now that was gone she would have no chance.

"Spoil sport" She grinned, "I'll be back, you know that right?"

Merlin could hear guards running up the hall behind her. He nodded.

"Swefnu!" She cried angrily, sending Merlin backwards once more before disappearing in her trademark black whirlwind. Merlin staggered, the adrenaline of the short confrontation had worn off. The wind from her transportation spell was strong, it sent the tall flaming torch at Merlin side tipping over, flames coming dangerously close to his face, instinctively he stepped back to avoid being burnt, only to find to his horror that there was no floor behind him. He had forgotten the spiral staircase.

The guards he had called for had come round the corner just in time to see Morgana disappear and they watched wide-eyed as Merlin fell. He gave a small yell of surprise before he tumbled downwards landing heavily on the stone stairs, his forehead gave a sickening crack and he knew no more.

…

Loud knocking at the door of his chambers awaked Arthur; quickly untangling himself from his night clothes which had twisted up in his sleep he answered it to find a breathless guard at his door.

"Prince Merlin says Morgana is in the castle, near the kings chambers!" the man gasped, he might of said more but Arthur was already running toward the hall, taking the short cut through the balconies intending to head up the spiral staircase to the hall where his fathers room was when he stopped, see a small gathering of guards at the foot of the stairs, crowding somebody.

Arthur felt his heart stop when he saw Merlin lying on the floor in a heap, a small amount of blood leaking from a cut on his forehead.

"What happened?" He demanded dropping down at his brother's side, "Merlin wake up!"

"Morgana knocked one of the torches over with her magic" A guard answered, "He stepped back to avoid it and…well I think he forgot the stair and, well he fell"

"Get my father" Arthur told him weakly, "I'm taking him to Gaius"

Careful not to jostle him too much Arthur gathered Merlin up in his arms and carried him as quickly as he could manage to Gaius's chambers. Gwen paled when she rounded the corner to see what all the fuss was about, she ran ahead to warn the physician.

By the time Arthur arrived at Gaius's chambers Merlin was struggling for breath, the doctor knocked everything off his worktable ready to begin treatment.

"Lay him down quickly! He's struggling to breath" Gaius ordered, Arthur did so.

"Is he going to be alright?" Arthur asked feeling something akin to panic rising up.

"I can fix the skin" Gaius said sadly as he stitched up the wound slowly, "But the brain is a fragile thing, the cranium is fractured"

"What does that mean?" Gwen asked, tears in her eyes.

"It means he's bleeding on the inside"

**This story is not as popular as it once was, I blame that on my late updates so I promise I will try and update more often **


	17. Chapter 17: The Crystal Cave III

Arthur held Gwen as she cried, it was a small comfort, He could feel tears pricking his own eyes but he refused to let them fall. He had to be strong for Gwen and for his brother. Merlin wouldn't die, he couldn't. His magic would save him, right? Reluctantly Arthur let Gwen go as he heard his father approaching, this was going to be awful.

"What happened?" The king bellowed seeing Merlin on the table, lying all too still.

"Morgana happened" Arthur admitted slowly. He could see his fathers rage building up and quickly indicated to Gwen that she should leave. As she left Arthur spared a look at Gaius, the old man took a deep breath. Better tell Uther the news now.

...

Arthur was aware that Sir Leon was watching him, the man was especially loyal. This proved it. The rain was pouring down in buckets while the prince mangled and beat his training dummy to a pulp with as much anger and energy as he could muster. Every now and then he let a yell of frustration escape his lips, it wasn't fair, it wasn't FAIR!

After hours, the prince finally tired himself out. All emotion just seemed to drain out of him he couldn't feel a dam thing. That's when he remembered a certain gift he had hidden in a draw of his desk. A dragon bone whistle. Kilghrah! He'd know what to do! He'd save Merlin!

With renewed hope he ran past Leon, shooting him a thankful glance as he headed up to his room. grabbing the whistle with more joy than he'd felt for what seemed like forever. It was a shame he'd have to wait until dark to use it, but Kilghrah would come, he had to. He'd save Merlin.

...

"I cannot watch him die Gaius" Uther spoke from his place at Merlin's side, pushing Merlin's dark locks out of his face.

"I wish there was something I could-"

"No you don't understand" Uther interrupted, "I cannot lose him, no matter what happens he cannot die"

"I will do everything I can sire" Gaius sighed

"No, what ever it takes" Uther corrected, "What ever it is I don't care, you must save him"

As the men quietly conversed neither of them noticed the slight flicker of movement between Merlin's eye lids, or the twitch of his finger.

"You're not understanding me Gaius!" Uther growled, "Cure him, I don't care what remedy you use, there must be something...something in the old religion"

"Are you suggesting?"

"Sorcery" Uther confirmed, "Yes"

...

"_Father?" Came the small voice, Uther looked up to see four year old Merlin standing at the foot of his desk, craning his neck to see over the top of the wooden structure. _

"_What are you doing here Merlin?" The king asked putting down the stack of papers he had been organizing, "Where is Arthur?"_

"_Pwaying with Leon" Merlin replied sourly, "They are pwaying knights, Art'r says I'm too little"_

_Arthur was three years older than Merlin and as tradition dictated he began practicing with wooden swords at age seven. The boys had been inseparable up until lately, Merlin was the youngest child, besides a few nobel babies, in the entire castle. His brother was his only play mate. _

"_You are too young to play with swords" Uther pointed out, "Why don't you go to Gaius, he can give you another lesson, you like learning to read don't you?"_

"_Yeah" Merlin mumbled climbing down from where he was hanging off and starting to walk away. The king turned back to his paper work, however he dropped the papers in shock when Merlin's small voice asked._

"_Father am I a 'filthy ingrate?'" _

"_What?" The King asked gaping at the ignorant face of his youngest son,_

"_Twistan says told me 'Merlin Pendwagon, you are a filthy ingrate'" Merlin repeated, "I don't know what that is"_

"_Did Tristan say anything else?" Uther asked, the quill he was holding threatening to snap with the force he was gripping it will._

"_He said I'd never be king, but tha' s'ok, cause I don' wanna be" Merlin grinned, "Art'r said I could be his abaoisor"_

"_Advisor" Uther corrected, "And that is true, you will be his advisor"_

"_Does that mean I'm an ingrate?" Merlin asked again._

"_No!" Uther yelled angrily, "You are not, an ingrate is worm, somebody who gets something they don't deserve"_

_Merlin's face fell when he realized what Tristan had been calling him._

"_You are not an ingrate Merlin, you are special"_

...

Arthur stood at his fathers side as he sat with Merlin, the latter breathed slowly, struggling for each breath, it was killing him. Merlin just had to hold on a little longer, just till it go dark enough.

Gwen knelt on the ground at Merlin's other side, weeping softly. Gaius placed a hand on the boys stomach, Arthur could see the tears in the corner of the old mans eyes.

"His breath's leaving him" He sighed, "He'll be gone by morning"

Arthur couldn't take it, it was already late evening, it was dark enough, he couldn't wait any longer. Luckily he knew nobody, not even Gwen would follow him. He had whispered his plan to Gaius earlier in order to make sure everything went smoothly.

"This isn't fair!" He yelled, turning and walking out the door, slamming it for extra effect. He could hear Gaius assuring the king and maid that he 'just needed some time alone, to come to terms with things'.

After that the prince ran as fast as he could, down to the stables and rode out to the clearing before grabbing the bone whistle, turning it in his fingers before taking a deep breath and blowing. To his surprise the sound that emerged was a deep, echoing roar, reminiscent of Merlin's summoning spell.

Those few minutes he waited for Kilghrah were the longest of the princes life, he paced back and forth, wearing a trench in the long grass. His heart soared when the looming shape of the dragon appeared, touching down a few feet from him.

"You summoned me?" He asked looking surprised, "I wasn't expecting you to make use of my gift so early"

"Merlin is dying!" Arthur blurted out, the dragon became serious. Kilghrah's face darkened as Arthur explained the situation, hissing at Morgana's name.

"Things are most serious, she will attempt to kill Uther again" Kilghrah pointed out, "You will need Merlin"

"So what do I do?" The dragon looked down at the prince with what Arthur could only describe as fondness. The dragon leaned forwards and breathed out a strange translucent mist, Arthur had never seen anything so amazing, the mist gathered up, into the dragon shaped head of the whistle and suddenly Arthur knew exactly what to do.


	18. Chapter 18: The Crystal Cave IV

Arthur had never run so fast in his life, he practically flew to the physician's chamber, dragon bone whistle in hand. He didn't know how he knew what to do, he just did. He silently thanked the God when he entered the room to find it empty of all but Gwen. His father was off attending to business and Gaius must have slipped out to get herbs or something. Arthur took up his place at Merlin's side. He was barely breathing.

"I'll sit with him," Arthur offered gently holding her shoulders, "Go rest"

"If he wakes...?" She started

"I'll tell you" Arthur promised, she smiled, god he loved her smile, as she left the room.

As soon as the door was closed the elder prince raised the whistle to his lips and gently blew, instead of the earth shaking roar like before this time, no sound came. Instead the strange translucent fog seeped out of it, winding around like a snake, flowing into Merlin's mouth and into the wound on his head. Merlin breathed deeply before settling back down into the pillows. Arthur breathed a sigh of relief.

At some point in the night while waiting for Merlin to wake he felt himself slipping into exhaustion, all the adrenaline had long worn off. At an early hour of the morning he allowed Gaius to lead him back to his own room. He knew Merlin was safe now, so he didn't fight it. Settling into his bed he made a promise not to sleep too long.

...

Uther made his way slowly to the physicians chambers. Gaius had told him Merlin would most likely die during the night. He would of stayed with him but he couldn't he refused to watch his son die before his eyes. So he had left, now he was going to say his farewells. Perhaps if he was lucky, Merlin may of held on a little longer and he could try to rouse him, just to say goodbye properly.

The king opened the door to see Merlin siting up, perfect awake and perfectly healthy, halfway through eating an apple that he must of grabbed from the bowl sitting behind him.

"Hello Father" He grinned like he would any other day, "Have you see Gaius? I woke up a while ago and I haven't seen him"

Uther blinked, he had to be imagining this. When he had last set eyes on the boy he had been at deaths door, he had begged Gaius to save him. Gaius. He must of used magic to heal Melrin. Uther secretly praised the man and quickly sat down on the side of the cot that Merlin was sitting in and hugged him, much to the young mans surprise.

"Was I out long?" He blinked in surprise, Uther still had one arm around him when Gaius entered, looking at Merlin in complete shock.

"It's truly a miracle" Uther supplied, Gaius nodded.

"Yes, perhaps you should go and tell Arthur the good news?" He supplied, Uther took the hint and got up, leaving Merlin to rest. Gaius followed him out, he grasped the old mans hands in appreciation.

"Thankyou Gaius! I knew you wouldn't fail me" He thanked

"I assure you sire, I did nothing" The man replied, Uther nodded.

"Of course, I won't ask questions" The king agreed, best not get to embroiled in the evils of magic.

...

Merlin got out of bed and thought about what had taken place. He was sure when he had been unconscious he had heard Uther, ordering Gaius to heal him with magic. Uther hated magic, yet he was willing to use it in order to save his life. It was a huge revelation. Perhaps Uther was not the perfect king, nor a perfect father, but his heart was in the right place, in his own twisted way.

The younger prince walked down the hall, towards Arthur's rooms to tell him about what he heard when a blur of red material and blonde hair came rushing round the corner so fast it crashed into him, sending him sprawling to the floor.

"Merlin!" Arthur yelped, picking himself off the floor and helping the younger to his feet before hugging him.

"I'm getting a lot of hugs today" Merlin mused, grinning.

"It worked, I was sure it would" Arthur beamed

"What?" Merlin asked, surely Gaius had healed him, not Arthur. His eyes widened as Arthur told him what Kilghrah had done, he was especially impressed that Arthur had managed to heal him himself. He was about to thank him when a yell interrupted the reunion.

"Sire! A servant has been killed" A guard yelled as he came skidding round the corner. Both princes were off in a flash, thanks could wait. The two found the body of the young man lying in the hall towards their rooms, he was lying in a puddle of blood red wine, obviously meant for the king. Arthur gently lifted the mans wrist to feel for a non existent pulse. Merlin froze, watching the red fluid drip from the mans fingers, just like in the crystals.

"Merlin, are you alright?" Asked Arthur, Merlin trembled

"That was no accident, I saw it in the crystal..." He muttered, "I was wrong, it's tonight Arthur, she's here now!"

The two were flying down the corridor towards Uther's rooms in a flash. Leaving the bewildered guards in their wake. As they turned into the hall they heard Uther yell, both paled, they could be too late. They burst into the room to see Morgana, face to face with Uther, who had his hand on a gash in his arm but was otherwise fine.

"Oh hello brother dear" She grinned

"There are two of us you know" Merlin scoffed

"Oh no, no there isn't" She smiled, "Go on Uther why don't you tell them, tell them why I'm here now. Morgause told me everything"

"Tell us what?" Arthur asked slowly, drawing his sword and pointing it at her. Uther stayed silent.

"Fine, I'll tell him" She smiled, "Uther is my father, that makes me, your sister, well half sister"

Arthur gaped. Merlin's mind raced, there were a few similarities between Morgause and Morgana, subtly facial things, bone features, height, body build. So if Uther was the father it meant the mother was...

"Vivienne" Merlin surmised, much to the universal shock of the room.

Uther nodded.

"So now you know, can I get on with killing him?" Morgana growled chucking the knife which Uther dodged. Both princes lunged for Morgana, Merlin missed and slid along the floor but Arthur managed to knock her down, resulting in a hard kick to the head. Arthur staggered to his feet, dazed.

"You're still defending him after he kept this from us?" She questioned, Arthur nodded she screamed, sending him flying back. Merlin took this chance to throw the first thing he could get his hands on, a goblet, at Morgana's head. He smiled when he saw a small cut on her forehead.

"you should know better than to turn your back on me Morgana" He grinned, dodging a bolt of strange gold fire as it burst forth from her hand. This distraction had given Uther and Arthur time to draw their swords, pointing them into Morgana's back, Merlin didn't have his sword on him, so he grabbed a spare from Uther's cupboard. They had her surrounded, instead of panicking, she smiled.

"Until next time then?"

Before they could stop her she dematerialised, completely vanished before their eyes.


	19. Chapter 19: Brotherly Love

It had taken a fairly big sedative to get Uther to stop raving, the brothers honestly couldn't help noticing his psych was slipping. Ever so slightly. Every time Morgana showed up, it slipped just a little more. It took a few days for things to become normal, the fact that Merlin had survived him tumble was a perfect miracle and it couldn't come come at a better time.

With Morgana showing up panic had begun to spread, however the miraculous recovery of their prince helped immensely. Gwen had practically bowled Merlin over when she saw him walking through the halls, luckily nobody but the princes were present so nobody could object to the prince being hugged by a servant.

Arthur was currently being forced to go through historical records for the last 20 years in order to make sure nothing had be wrongfully cataloged. He had no idea why Geofery couldn't do it but Uther had ordered one of the princes to. Merlin had been gone faster than a race horse. Something about writing to Elena, Merlin wrote to her at least once a month, sometimes more depending on how fast their letters were delivered. Arthur had managed to glimpse a few of them for things he could tease his brother about but they were completely innocent.

Most of them contained updates on what each of them were doing in their lives, updates on each of the kingdoms and simple stories off their small adventures. Nothing even remotely romantic, but he could tell the feeling was there.

After he had finished with he horrible job he made his way over to Merlin's room, it was almost the end of the month, meaning Merlin would most likely be writing to Elena and Arthur could tease him as punishment for leaving him to to do the hateful job. Of course he knew this would just mean Merlin would tease him about Gwen but he found he didn't mind too much. They were both much to obvious to deny such claims.

When he entered the room what he didn't expect to see was Merlin sitting at his desk with an extremely pale face and dark rings around his eyes. How did that happen so quickly?

"Arthur!" Merlin jumped trying to hide his face

"Merlin what the hell, you look like you haven't slept in a week!" Arthur exclaimed, "You looked fine a few hours ago"

"Make up" Merlin sighed, obviously deciding there was no point in even trying to lie.

"You wear make up?" Arthur replied covering a smirk, Merlin glared. the younger prince dug out a small bag of powder and quickly smeared it over his features, efficiently giving him a healthy glow.

"It's to cover up the paleness and dark circles" Merlin explained, "So people don't react the way you just did"

"Your not sleeping well I take it" Arthur sighed, sitting down at Merlin's table, the younger prince nodded.

"Merlin I'm worried about you" Arthur sighed sitting down on his brothers bed, "These nightmares keep coming back, it's just like..."

"Morgana?" Merlin finished, "No, I don't often have vision dreams, I haven't had once since before she left its just...normal nightmares"

"What are they about at the moment?" Arthur asked gently, Merlin blushed.

"Elena" He admitted quietly, Arthur smirked.

"No! Not like that!" Merlin exclaimed realising his mistake, "I dream that she sees me using magic"

"And she hates you because of it?" Arthur suggested, Merlin groaned, head in his hands, nodding tiredly. Arthur could see his dilemma, he could hardly lie about something so huge to somebody so important to him, but he couldn't tell her either.

"Then there's those bloody crystals" Merlin continued

"Crystals?" Arthur asked

"Every time I have a nightmare they encase me, trap me inside them and they burn" He explained, "it's been happening ever since the Crystal of Neahtid and even more after my visit to the cave..."

Those crystals always worried Arthur. He felt a wave of guilt crash down on him when he remembered it was him who handed the Crystal of Neahtid to Merlin in the first place, starting off this whole thing. Nothing effected Merlin so negatively as those crystals.

...

Arthur knew he couldn't tell father about Merlin, he was cracking as it was. But at the same time he couldn't let Merlin continue this way. He had no choice. It was late now, the sun having set hours ago. Arthur would be going to bed now on a normal night but not now, he had a mission.

The sleeping draught in his pocket felt very heavy.

As expected he found Merlin awake, laying on his stomach with one of his books infront of the fireplace on the thick fur rug. He glanced up at Arthur before going back to his book, he looked exhausted, Arthur barely had to conceal pouring the potion into a goblet of water before he sat down with his brother, handing it to him. After a little while he laid down on his stomach next his Merlin and looked at the book he was reading. It was his magic book. Arthur screwed up his nose at all the funny letters.

"You can read this?" He said finally, Merlin laughed

"Of course it's not hard" Merlin laughed taking a sip from the goblet, the drug was powerful, but slow acting. It would take a little while to take effect. Arthur didn't mind he was curious, for the next half an hour Merlin did his best to translate and teach Arthur to read the strange symbols and letters. Explaining the strange illustrations and doing his best to play 'teacher'.

"Your name has a magical equivalent you know" Merlin pipped up, blinking slowly.

"It does?" Arthur blinked

"Yeah, Arthur means Stone Bear" Merlin yawned, "Merlin means...hawk..."

"Strong bear for me and wise hawk for you" Arthur mused, "sounds fitting"

"Mmmh" Merlin mumbled, head dropping onto the soft mat, the drug was taking effect, the rug was warm, Arthur didn't have the heart to move him. Instead he closed Merlin's magic book and placed it back on the shelves before grabbing a random book on history and settling back down on his stomach. He figured it was best to wait here, just incase Merlin had a nightmare. Unfortunately the warmth of the fire soon got to the elder Prince as well.

The next morning Uther came to Merlin's room hoping the younger could tell him why Arthur was not in his chambers, thats where he found them. Both fast asleep, curled up next to one another next to a long forgotten book and fire.

**Yay for brotherly love!**

**I know that you might be thinking I over use crystals and nightmares but believe me, they will be relevant later!**


	20. Chapter 20:Through the Peoples Eyes

**This chapter is different from the others as it is told from the point of view of the people of Camelot and a foreign king instead of Merlin, Arthur or Uther.**

"I feel weird" Merlin complained fiddling with his coronet.

"Just be thankful you don't have to wear this" Arthur sighed indicating to the much heavier crown, "Not for a few more months anyway"

"Why did we have to get new clothes for King Oswald's visit anyway?" Merlin whispered as the two kings greeted one another, Arthur shrugged and signalled for his brother to follow him and introduce himself to the king.

Both princes looked like the pride of the kingdom, and they were. Both dressed in black pants and long sleeved shirts with bright red capes tied with gold. It matched their golden crowns perfectly. The people were proud of their princes. In many kingdoms brothers were rivals and some even killed one another in an effort to gain the throne, not these two.

Arthur had been groomed since birth to be king, he understood the laws and he was kind. One day after his father's death he would be a better king than he. In a way Merlin would make a good king but he lacked the confidence and bravado needed, instead, completely by accident he had been groomed to be the perfect advisor to his brother. Raised by as one of the people he knew how the smaller societies worked and what they needed to keep the people calm and happy. Most importantly, he had no desire for the throne. He was content to stay at his brother's side and be his shadow.

When ever one of the pair was injured or sick the other stayed with them. Merlin was sicklier than his brother, mostly because he often was injured protecting him, showing the depths of his loyalty. However when Arthur had come down with a fever a few months beforehand after training in the snow Merlin never left his side. Nothing in Camelot stayed quiet for very long due to chatty castle servants and guards and they were proud to tell the stories of Merlin sitting at his brothers bedside reading to him, talking and joking even when Arthur was only semi-lucid.

Uther was in his own way a good king, but he relied on fear, Arthur would need no such trick to keep the people loyal to him.

…

King Oswald was looking forward to visiting Camelot, he had not done so since he himself was a prince and the elders of the Pendragon sons had not even been born yet. He had heard great things about the two princes both from rumour and from the king himself. When he stepped off his horse he spotted the two, waiting patiently behind a tired looking Uther. The elder stepped forward first, he was obviously Uther and Ygraine's child, bright blonde hair, strong body and his mannerisms mirrored that of Uther at a younger age, if not somewhat more polite.

The younger confused him, pale, skinny with dark hair and bright eyes he held an air of wisdom and calmness about him. He was as handsome as his brother in a different way but he was obviously not Uther's son. Not biologically anyway. He stepped forward with his brother holding out his hand politely.

"I'm Merlin Pendragon" He said, "This is my older brother Arthur"

"Nice to meet you" Oswald replied, "I see you haven't come of age yet, you can't be far off though, how many years older is Arthur"

"Three years my senior" Merlin replied,

"He'll come of age in five months" Arthur supplied before grinning, "I plan on getting him as drunk as he got me at my party"

"Hey!" The brothers teased and poked at each other, they were much closer than any other siblings Oswald had seen.

"Arthur, Merlin" Uther scolded, they stilled, Merlin itched at his coronet.

…

A feast was held in celebration of Oswalds arrival, the evening had been pleasant so far, the food had been eaten and now they were all sitting together along with a few nobles and knights simply enjoying company. He could have been wrong but Oswald was sure he saw Prince Merlin sneak a few grapes and strips of meat to the servants. Arthur followed suit as well, giving shares of his dinner to the younger servants.

"I've been meaning to ask" Oswald said to Merlin, "You don't look like your Uther's son, at leats not physically…"

"Oh yeah" Merlin replied seemingly unfazed, "Uther adopted me when I was a baby, then he found my….family, and I went back there. But they died a few years ago and so, here I am"

"You get along well with Arthur" The king noted

"I found them both sleep on the floor in Merlin's room the other night, they fell asleep reading" Uther laughed, Arthur and Merlin turned bright red

"Father!" The exclaimed at the same time

"Just cause I'm not going to be king is no reason to hate Arthur" Merlin muttered, "I don't even want to be king, ever"

…

The princes had spent the next day training with the knights; Arthur managed to win a bet with Leon and was now bragging. He quickly shut up when Merlin managed to trip him over resulting a lot of laughing knights. Next thing they knew the two brother had swords drawn and were playfully fighting all over the pitch. Up and down targets, climbing fences, all while grinning, attacking and defending.

"Do they do this often?" The king asked his host, Uther sighed.

"When Merlin first returned a few years ago I had to break them up because they were fighting in the market" Uther shook his head, "With maces"

"They are fine princes though" Oswald noted, Uther nodded.

"Yes, I am proud of them" He smiled, "Both of them"

**I know this is a short chapter and its filler but I wanted to do a small thing about how the people see the Pendragon family. **


	21. Chapter 21: Queen of Hearts I

Merlin sat at the table in Arthur's room, they were both trying their best to concentrate on going through all the paper work about news on the northern border of Camelot but it was very dull. Merlin was sorting them while Arthur was supposed to be writing replies, instead it seemed he was just casually doodling all over the page. Merlin couldn't really talk though, just last week he had fallen asleep and drooled all over his writing, it had taken ages to re do all the work. Arthur was laughing the whole time too.

"What are you drawing anyway?" Merlin pipped up

"Nothing" Arthur replied a little too quickly, Merlin made a swipe for the paper, snatching it up while Arthur madly tried to get it back. Merlin's eyes widened when a simple sketch of Gwen met his eyes. It wasn't perfect mind, neither was it bad, it was obvious who the drawing was of. He could practically feel the heat radiating off his brothers face. Merlin handed it back.

"Might want to keep that out of fathers gaze" He added casually

...

"What news from the norther borders?" Asked Uther from his place at the dinner table

"There have been a number of minor scuffles" Arthur replied, doing his best not to stare at Gwen who was serving him.

"You think Odin is testing our defenses?" Uther asked, Merlin hid a smirk behind his goblet as Arthur continued to casually look at Gwen.

"Arthur are you listening?" Uther demanded

"What sorry?" The oldest prince blinked, reaching out and knocking his goblet onto the ground

"What on earth is wrong with you?" Uther demanded

"Nothing, sorry" Arthur blushed, Merlin smirked.

Dinner passed by agonizingly slowly, Arthur had never been so glad to get back to paper work.

"Come on Arthur, just, spend some time with her" Merlin urged, "I know she likes you too"

"Did she say something?" Arthur asked looking hopeful, Merlin rolled his eyes.

"Arthur your heads already as big as your waist, I'm not going to flatter you any more" Merlin laughed, "Besides a blind man could see it"

"Oh shut up Merlin" Arthur groaned flinging a quill at him, "How would I even...I don't know, what if she says no?"

"You...realize you're a prince right?"

...

"Arthur wishes to spend the day with me?" Gwen repeated, Merlin felt himself getting awkward.

"I thought'd you'd be happy" He said slowly, oh he was regretting telling Arthur to do this

"It's not that simple" Gwen muttered, "If anybody found out, what is somebody sees us?"

"I'll take you to meet him outside the city" Merlin offered, "Then I'll come back and if anybody asks I was showing you where Gaius wanted his herbs from, after all if I come back quickly, without you nobody will suspect anything"

Gwen bit her lip, Merlin sighed placing his hands on her shoulders.

"Forget that its prince Arthur who can be a spilt arrogant prat, you like him" He smiled

Gwen nodded.

"And he likes you" Merlin finished, "Isn't that all that really matters?"

"I suppose it is" She smiled, Merlin grinned

"Then I'll come back in the morning" He told her turning to leave, he was excited for his brother. Gwen was good for him, Arthur wasn't a prat very often any more but Gwen had a sweet temperament and was so kind to him. It was perfect.

...

Merlin knocked on Gwen's wooden door the next morning, slowly opening it to reveal an empty house. Gwen stepped out between the hanging cloth door that separated the small two room house. Merlin stared, she was dressed in a pale pink dress and shawl, she really was beautiful. Not that Merlin himself was attracted to her, but he wouldn't lie about it.

"What, what is it?" She asked nervously

"You look lovely" Merlin smiled, she blushed. They walked through the town, discussing the herbs Gaius needed and how they had to be quick as Merlin was needed back at the palace, only dropping the facade when they entered the forest. Merlin knew the place Arthur had set up with cushions and blankets for her, it was just across a stream over a hill.

When the pair reached the spot they stifled the laugher, Arthur was preening himself in the reflection of a silver plate. Merlin quickly hushed Gwen, cupping his hands and calling out with a terrible impersonation of hawk. Arthur dropped the pate clumsily, causing Gwen to giggle.

With ease she hopped from rock to rock over the small stream, Arthur gave Merlin a nod.

"You can go now you know" He hinted, Merlin laughed and turned to go home.

...

He was on his way back inside when Uther beckoned him over, handing him the reins of his horse.

"Have you seen Arthur?" Uther questioned, "I was hoping we could go riding, the three of us"

Uh, oh.

"Um, he's off hunting" Merlin replied quickly, "I just saw him off"

"Too bad, I shall go on my own, unless you would like to join me" Uther continued, Merlin knew it really wasn't a question. At least if he went with Uther he could make sure he didn't go anywhere near where Arthur and Gwen were.

"Alright, let's go"

...

"You are not here as a servant" Arthur reminded Gwen as she passed him a plate with some fruit on it, he quickly filled hers and handed it to her.

"it feels different doesn't it?" She sighed, "Being away from Camelot"

"i love Camelot more than I can say" Arthur admitted truthfully, "But sometimes I feel when I'm there, I can hardly breath, everybody expects so much of me. Being here with you...I can be myself"

"I like that, you being yourself" Gwen smiled

"Some times I dream of leaving Camelot" Arthur admitted, feeling slightly guilty, he'd never even told Merlin that.

"Really? Where would you go?" She asked

"I don't know, somewhere where nobody knew who I was" He answered, "Get some land, be a farmer"

Gwen laughed, he had to admit it himself, it seemed stupid.

"I'd take Merlin with me, he'd do all the hard work" he joked

They both laughed.

...

Merlin would be lying if he said he wasn't enjoying riding with his father. It was most enjoyable and Uther almost seemed himself. No anger or betrayal effecting his judgment. He races his horse up the hill, laughing as it reared up, he was good with horses, he didn't mind.

"Be careful!" uther warned

"I am being careful!" Merlin yelled, "You're just slow!"

"I'll show you" Uther dared racing past him much to Merlin's surprise, he laughed, suddenly stopping when He saw Uther was heading straight for the hollow where Arthur and Gwen were.

"Hey, wait!" He called desperately,

"Just because you can't keep up" Uther laughed

"No um, we should stick to the paths" Merlin tried desperately to get in front of Uther to stop him, "Bandits and all"

Uther didn't buy it, but he did slow to a trot but by the time Merlin caught up it was too late, the kings horse was over the rise and into the hollow, where Gwen and Arthur were currently, kissing. The two quickly sprang apart at the sight of Uther.

"Arthur!" Uther yelled in surprise

"Oh no" Merlin moaned

**I tried writing The Changling but I honestly couldn't make it interesting. Sorry. **


	22. Chapter 22: Queen of Hearts II

Arthur paced around the great hall nervously. He'd never been so agitated in his life. Any second now the king was going to come flying through the doors and yell like he'd never yelled before. When he was a child he would hide from his father when he was angry, of course he had kicked this cowardice when he was around seven, now it came back with a vengeance.

He turned to face then king as he entered, stone face. He braced himself for the worst, which made things even stranger when the king burst into laughter, clamping his son on the shoulder. Arthur gave a small relieved smile.

"I thought you'd be furious" He sighed

"I was young once I'm more than familiar with the temptation of serving girls" Uther laughed, Arthur quickly dispelled the mental image.

"I'm sorry I kept it from you" He admitted, never feeling happier in his life.

"No harm has been done" Uther smiled, "Of course, I can't allow it to continue"

"What are you talking about?" Arthur asked feeling his trepidation return

"You can never see this girl again" Uther repeated casually

"You just said no harm had been done" Arthur argued

"You've had your fun, now it must come to an end" Uther said a little more seriously

"What does it matter that she is a servant?" Arthur asked, his fathers face hardened.

"The survival of Camelot depends on forging an alliance through your marriage" Uther explained carefully

"I won't marry somebody I don't love" Arthur felt his voice raising

"I forbid you to see this girl!" Uther yelled.

"You can't forbid my feelings anymore than I can" Arthur retorted, "I wont ignore them any longer I love her"

There was an uncomfortable silence.

"You leave me no choice she is banished from the city" Uther sighed walking away much to Arthur's horror.

"You can't do that!" He cried, "She has nowhere to go!"

"She had three days to leave" Uther continued, "If she returns it is on pain of death"

"Please" Arthur begged, "Don't banish her, I promise, I'll never see her again"

"You have made it clear to me that you cannot control your emotions" Uther scolded, "This is for your own good"

...

Arthur couldn't believe this. He was never going to see Gwen again, all because Merlin had gone riding with Uther. Deep down he knew Merlin would never of lead Uther to Gwen and he but right now he was furious, not only with himself and his father but with his brother. He ran out into the courtyard, there was Merlin standing with the horses, he ran over to Arthur as soon as he saw him.

"Arthur I-"

"How could you do that!" Arthur roared, Merlin stepped back in surprise, "He's banished her! She's being forced to leave Camelot all because you couldn't keep you mouth shut!"

"I didn't tell him!" Merlin defended,

"Well your the one who went riding with him, right into the hollow!" Arthur yelled

"I tried to stop him!" Merlin yelled back

"You are the most hopeless idiot I've ever met!" Arthur continued, unaware of the staring faces of all the towns people, "You couldn't keep a secret if your life depended on it!"

"That's not true and you know it!" Merlin yelled right back, angry now as well.

"It's your fault this is happening!" Arthur blamed, "It was your stupid idea and it's your fault he found out! Why don't you just go back and live on a farm where you belong!"

Arthur stormed away, leaving a shell shocked and hurt Merlin behind with all the people of the courtyard's eyes on him. He knew it would take less than an hour for the fight to reach the ears of most of Camelot.

...

Uther sat at his table eating, he couldn't believe how Arthur had behaved today, all over a serving girl. Especially when he admitted he loved her. It was absurd. He'd never even shown her the slightest bit of interest and now he was claiming to be in love.

Uther dropped his fork. What if Arthur was enchanted? This Gwen person was Morgana's maid once, perhaps she too had magic. No, it wasn't a question, she had magic. She had enchanted Arthur it was the only explanation. Forget banishment, that woman was going to be executed!

Yelling for the guards to bring the woman to him he made his way to the throne room. On his way he encountered Merlin, who looked horrified at what he had done. He didn't understand. He practically had to drag his son to the throne room, he needed a witness anyway.

The girl was thrown before him, fake tears in her eyes, eh would not fall for such trickery.

"You enchanted Arthur" It was not a question

"No I don't have magic!" She denied

"Why else would Arthur fall in love with some one like you" He hissed with venom in his tongue.

"I don't expect some on like you to under stand that" She bit back, without even thinking he raised a gloved hand and slapped her across the face. He saw Gaius flinch at the movement, he ignored the man, he was being soft hearted.

"What is the meaning of this?" Arthur yelled running into the hall, "I heard you ordered Gwen to be dragged here"

"She is an enchantress" Uther said with certainty, "Your actions are not your own, you are under a spell"

"Thats ridiculous!" Arthur spat, "I know how I feel I'm not enchanted!"

"Until this spell is broken I can't take anything you say as the truth" Uther whispered

"Sire, I have known Gwen for years, I don't believe she would do this" The physician spoke up

"I don't care what you believe Gaius" Uther snapped, "Arthur is under her spell it's the only rational explanation for his behavior!"

"Father you have to see reason!" Merlin tried, "Gwen has done nothing wrong"

"She is guilty and she will be burnt at the stake!" Uther announced ignoring his younger son.

"No" Arthur shook his head stepping forward, "You can't do this!"

"Restrain him!"

The order came just in time as Arthur surged forward held back by two guards, struggling to get both at Uther and at the woman at his feet.

"Sire at least give her a fair trial!" Gaius begged

"I have all the evidence I need!" Uther boomed

"I'm begging you!" Arthur's voice rang out, "W-we will leave Camelot, we'll never return, just please let us go! I release my entitlement to the throne"

If Uther had any doubt before it was gone now, he walked forwards slowly placing a hand on his sons face.

"My son would never do that" He hushed, "It is proof beyond doubt that you are enchanted"

"You can't do this!" Merlin yelled also having to restrained now.

"I'll never forgive you" Arthur told him

"She will die" Uther replied soothingly, "You will see reason, take her away"

"No! Guinevere!" Arthur yelled struggling from the guards grips as the woman was dragged away, breaking free for a moment and kissing her, just briefly before being dragged back.

"I'll always love you" He said quickly before being dragged back.

Uther felt disgusted.

**If you are wondering why Uther made such a huge leap its because his psych is slightly out of sorts because of Morgana's betrayal, even though it didn't break him he is extremely nervous and jumpy, especially when something he doesnt under stand happens. Therefore he suspects magic a lot faster. **

**I actually can't wait to write The Coming of Arthur, its so good ^^**


	23. Chapter 23: Queen of Hearts III

As hurt as he was Merlin couldn't be angry with Arthur, he kept seeing how distraught he was when Gwen was sentenced to death. Merlin himself was in a mild stage of panic, Gwen was his friend and he was going to do anything in his power to save her. Slowly he walked into Arthur's room, he was standing by the window looking down at the pyre being constructed in the courtyard. The blonde turned to see who it was, there wasn't any malice in his eyes, only regret and sadness.

"I'm sorry" He said quietly

"I know" Merlin replied, "I'm worried too, we need to find a way to smuggle her out of Camelot"

"Father has me under constant watch, guards outside and in the square" Arthur's voice cracked

"I can't watch her die Merlin" Arthur said finally on the verge of tears, "I won't"

"He may have you under constant watch, but he doesn't have me" Merlin smiled, "He heard we were fighting, he wont suspect me helping you"

"So...?"

"We just pretend we are angry at each other, he wont watch me, I'll find a way to save her" Merlin promised, "Now um, pretend I'm father and yell, let off some steam, we need to make them all think we're furious with each other and that I'm on fathers side"

"Thankyou" Arthur whispered honestly, "I don't mean anything I'm about to say"

"Me either" Merlin nodded

To an outside listener, which was actually most of the castle, the princes were obviously furious with each other. Their insults echoed through the corridors and out into the square. It was truly a sight to behold, or rather, hear.

Merlin burst dramatically out of the elder princes chambers, a goblet flying through the air after him, hitting the wall. Accompanied by a Arthur's call of "And don't come back!"

Merlin suppressed a grin as he made his way down tot he dungeons, no doubt one of Arthur's guards had gone to tell Uther of his sons row. Taking advantage of this he took the time to talk to Gwen.

"How is Arthur?" She asked straight away

"He will do everything in his power to convince father that you are innocent" Merlin implored, quickly taking his time to explain the 'fight' between them.

"I'll find a way to convince him" Merlin tried

"He wont change his mind, you know he wont" Gwen sobbed

"We will free you Gwen" Merlin gave her a brief hug, "You know we will"

...

Merlin paced around his room, trying to think of anything that could change Uther's mind. Nothing worked. He needed irrefutable proof that Gwen did not enchant Arthur but how...?

Unless...

That was it! There was no magic but Uther would never believe that so, if it was an evil sorcerer he wanted, that is what he will get! He would be caught 'enchanting' Arthur and then use magic to escape. He'd need a disguise though. It would need to be good though, his father couldn't recognise him.

After some time he settled on an ageing spell, it was difficult and complicated magic. He would need to mix a potion to help him, Gaius would have the herbs he needed. He walked down to the physicians rooms and began to rummage through the various potions and glasses containing various plants dried and otherwise.

"Ahem" Gaius coughed, making Merlin spin around

"Gaius! I uh..." Merlin fumbled before accepting Gaius couldn't be fooled by him now, "I need herbs to make an ageing potion"

"Why?" Asked the physician suspiciously

"I'm going to pretend to be an evil enchanting sorcerer and prove Gwen is innocent" Merlin admitted much to Gaius's horror, "Don't worry, once I'm caught I'll confess, get locked up then use magic to escape and turn back into myself!"

"That will be very dangerous Merlin" Gaius scolded, "That magic is very powerful, you might not be able to change back so easily"

"I have to do it" merlin replied with determination in his eyes, "for Gwen"

The physician relented seeing the prince so desperate and grabbed the herbs he would need. Thanking him, Merlin quickly locked himself in his room, using the excuse of wanted to let off some steam due to his fight with Arthur. Gaius had been right, this spell was powerful, carefully he ground the plants into dust, and began his spell.

"Miht dagan, beþecce me. Adeadaþ þisne gast min freondum ond min feondum!"

The dust burst into flames.

...

It had taken a few minutes to get used to what he looked like. All old and wrinkled, his hair was long and silvery white. He couldn't believe that one day he would actually look like he did right now, it wasn't flattering.

Treading carefully, his legs ached, he made his way to Arthur's rooms, distracting the guards by using magic to tip over a suit of armour a few feet away. Once he was in the room he felt a sword on his back.

"Don't be a prat it's me" Merlin grumbled

"Merlin?" Arthur gaped, putting away the sword and taking in his brothers appearance, "How...what?"

"I'm an evil sorcerer" Merlin grinned, "Here to enchant you then mysteriously escape from the dungeons"

Arthur smiled widely for the first time since the ordeal began, "Merlin you are amazing!"

"Yes I know" Merlin smiled, "Now hurry and call your guards so I can be arrested"

"Guards!" Arthur bellowed doing his best to stop the smile on his face, "Guards!"

They came running in and managed to subdue the 'threat' of Merlin, dragging him off to see the king roughly. Arthur gave him a wink. Merlin was presented to his father with shackles on his wrists, hatred boiled in the kings eyes.

"You enchanted my son?" Uther growled

"yes, there is no point in denying it" Merlin croaked disguising his voice

"Why? Who are you" Asked Uther. Oh crap. He hadn't thought of that...

"If Arthur were to fall in love with a servant girl it would bring shame to Camelot" Merlin fumbled, "I am...Dragoon...the great!"

The king looked at him strangely, "Have I wronged you in some way"

"You have wronged, so many people in so many ways" Merlin muttered darkly, he may as well speak his mind, "Your blinded by your hatred of magic, you cannot even accept your own son"

Maybe he should not of said that. Luckily it was just Uther and him at that moment. Uther's eyes widened.

"You know...You will e executed, you are your accomplice!" He bellowed

"The girl in entirely innocent!" Merlin added quickly, "I enchanted her too"

"How did you know about my sons magic?" Uther hissed quietly, now he was really regretting saying that.

"Those who have magic, simply know" He said finally, "Your son would know I have magic simply by looking deep enough"

"Get him out of my sight!" Uther yelled furious, "Release the girl, tomorrow this man, Dragoon, will take her place on the pyre!"

**Sorry this took so long but you guys have no idea how busy my life is right now. Seriously. I try and write a little bit everyday though**


	24. Chapter 24: Queen of Hearts

Merlin landed roughly in the bottom of the cell. These old bones were hard and stiff, he would be very happy to be his proper age once more. Waiting until the guards left he muttered the counter spell.

"Edniwe min geoguð"

Nothing happened.

"Edniwe min geoguð!"

Again, nothing. He was stuck. He'd never been so frightened, what if he was killed? Burnt at the stake for something he didn't do? By his own father. He didn't want to burn...

After a few hours he heard footsteps, Gaius was in front of his cell looking concerned.

"Merlin!" He hissed, "What happened? Why are you still here?"

"I can't break the spell Gaius" Merlin sobbed, "The magic's too powerful"

"Try again!" The physician implored

"I have tried it's no good" Merlin replied woefully, "I'm stuck like this..."

"Not for long" Gaius whispered, "Uther will have you burnt at the stake!"

"Please Gaius, there has to be another way to break this spell!" Merlin begged, "Please help"

The few seconds Gaius took to think were amoung the longest in Merlin's entire life.

"In the book of Gaala, there is a remedy for such spells" Gaius began, "But it will take time"

"Please" Merlin repeated

"Buy as much time as you can" Gaius ordered, "I'll do my best to get it to you in time"

...

That night Merlin spent most of his time trying to stay calm, however when the bells tolled for morning he had no succeeded. He was going to die, Gaius wouldn't get there in time. The guards were going to be there any second, he had to try and stall.

"It's time"

Only Merlin would detect the tremor in Arthur's voice. Of course he had been charged with bringing him to his death. He turned to face his brother, Arthur was doing his best to keep up appearences however the younger could tell he was failing.

"Wait!" Merlin tried despretly

"What is it?" Asked Arthur a little too keen to help the sorcerer stall

"There are...other crimes I wish to confess" Merlin tried adding an evil laugh

If Arthur could of he would of rolled his eyes.

"Alright but we can't execute you twice you know" Arthur replied

Merlin spent the next five minutes stamering out 'crimes' anything he could think of really, everything from stealing sheep to turning people into newts. That last one got some funny looks from the guards. Evetually though he ran out of ideas and was lead outside and through the castle towards to courtyard. He caught Gaius's eye as he came round the corner, tiny bottle of potion in his hand, oh if only he could of stalled longer!

The corwd was large, why people gathered for this sort of thing always confused him. Who wanted to watch as a person writhed in agony in a tall tower of fire? Slowly being burnt to death. He gulped, he could feel Arthur's palms sweating as he kept a loose hold on his arm, his brother was walking as slowly as he could manage, his eyes begging Merlin to make some great escape.

"You have been found guilty of using magic and enchantments!" Uther announced from his place on the balcony

"They are the same thing!" Merlin yelled, he'd been dying to tell Uther that for years.

"In accordance with our laws you will be burnt at the stake" Uther growled with a little more passion, ignoring the man, "Let this be a lesson to all those who seek to destroy Camelot"

Merlin stopped listening to the speech, he'd heard it a hundred times anyway. What had his attention was Gaius, standing in the crowd a few feet from him, holding a spell bottle half concealed in his sleeve. Merlin had an idea.

He easily slipped out of Arthur's grip, the prince stumbling backwards pathetically to act as if he had used great strength. Merlin quickly grabbed Gaius by his colar, discretly grabbing the potion as he did so.

"A curse upon you all!" He screamed, "I will have my revenge!"

The guards pulled him off the physican, dragging him up to the pyre which had just been lit, this ould require some tricky manuvoiuring.

"Intend lig, intend lig!" He yelled, eyes flashing yellow. As he commanded the fire sprang up, huge and hot, the guards let go on him to shield their faces from the heat. Merlin took his chance and ran through the crowd, it was fairly easy as most people simply dodged out of the way of the crazy old man.

"After him!" Arthur yelled, barely jogging after his disguised brother.

Merlin made it to the corridor where his rooms were, hiding in an alcove, quickly un corking the bottle and downing the clear blue liquid. The taste was vile! He could feel it taking effect, his bones seemed to break and reknit together, it was awful. He ripped the red cloak off himself barely able to hide in behind a near by wall hanging before Arthur and the guards turned the corner. Uther in tow, that he hadn't been expecting.

"Where is the sorcerer?" Uther asked

"He went.." Merlin coughed trying to clear his throat, his voice was still creaky and old, "Um, that way?"

"You let him run right past you?" Arthur raised his eyes brows

"He was, uh too, too fast for me" Merlin slurred, his head felt foggy from the potion and the fact that a lot of long white hair just recessed into his skull.

"Are you drunk?" Uther accused

"Umm.."

"You know just cause we're fighting doesn't mean you need to drink yourself stupid!" Arthur laughed, "I'm not angry anymore"

"Right" Merlin nodded dizzily

"Merlin go to your rooms and sober up!" Uther ordered before he and guards ran off to look from the 'evil old man'.

The two brothers looked at each other. They laughed.

...

Gwen walked down the hall nervously, after the week she had she would be jumpy for a month. Suddenly somebody grabbed her arm and swung her behind a pillar, she gave a short scream. Stopping when she realised it was Arthur, smiling at her.

"Sorry, didn't mean to startle you" He teased, "Now, my father believes my feelings for you are the result on an enchantment"

"But we both know that's not quite true" Gwen teased right back

"We must be careful" Arthur implored seriously, "If he gets any idea that we are together, he will banish you"

"What you said to yoru father" Gwen started, "About giving up your right to the thrine, did you mean it?"

"Ofcourse, I'd still do it" Arthur replied without batting an eye lid.

"Your place is here in Camelot"

"My place is with you"

"What about your people?" She asked, "You have to stay for them. You will be a great king and you will change all these laws and customs"

"I promise you, when I am king things will be different" Arthur told her with completely honesty, "we will be together"

"I'll count the days till then" Gwen smiled, Arthur kissed her.

**Sorry this took so long but I have this story "The Irregulars" which is really popular and as shallow as it is, the more reviews I get the more I want to write a story and that story gets TONNES of reviews every day. So when I get the chance I end up writing that instead of this. **

**However next up is the coming of Arthur! Which I have been planing FOREVER so the next up date should take so long. **

**Thanks for sticking with me!**


	25. Chapter 25: The Coming of Arthur I

The room was filled with sombre silence as Arthur handed the charred cloak to his father. An entire patrol had gone missing and by the looks of it, had lost their lives. Merlin had told Arthur the cloak bared the signs of magical fire, of course he couldn't be sure but the burn pattern suggested a fire ball. Maning there was a good chance either Morgana or Morgause were there. Meaning they were with Cenred.

"It was Cenred who did this" Uther stated, "Your sure?"

"Yes My Lord" Merlin answers, "His messenger has only departed the city at this moment"

"Cenred said that the patrol, trespassed on his land" Arthur explained, "And, an example had to be made"

"How many dead?" uther asked gravely

"All of them sire" Arthur admitted, "Every last man"

"The knights?" Uther continued eyes widening in shock

"All lost" Arthur continued

"Edric, Oldof, Osric, and Sir Leon" Merlin listed sadly. Everybody sighed at the last name, Leon was the second in command, a brave and kind man. Everybody loved him, Arthur was good friends with the man, or at least he had been.

...

Merlin sat on the edge of the tower, legs hanging over the edge, nobody came here nowadays, it was private. He looked down at the huge mass of swirling water below. The castle was on a small plateau, connected to the city via the draw bridge, however most of the time the moat surrounding the castle was dry and empty. There had been terrible rain storms the last few weeks, flash floods were inevitable. Now the moat was full and it rushed dangerously as it had connected with a nearby river. It would take weeks, perhaps months for the water to dry up.

Merlin hummed, not a human tune but a deep gravely dragon sound. Low and to the untrained ear, tuneless. He liked it here, he could think and use his powers without being seen and at the same time look down at the city. He'd have to ask Kilgharah about these strange traits he'd picked up since becoming a dragon lord, the growls when he was frustrated, the humming when he was happy or thinking. He wondered if his father did it too.

The prince stopped his humming however when he saw somebody entering the courtyard, chain mail, no cape, armor, long brown hair...

"Leon!"

When Merlin had burst through the doors of the council chambers, Leon in tow there could not of been a set of happier faces.

"We thought we lost you!" Arthur exclaimed clamping the man softly on the shoulder

I was dead, or as good as" Leon admitted, "Until the druids found me"

Oh Leon...Why did you say that?

"Druids?" Uther asked, the smiles slipped from both princes faces, Leon realized his mistake.

"Yes My Lord" he admitted, "I owe them my life"

"How did they heal you you said you were as good as dead" Uther said all to quickly

"I-I don't know" It was the first time Merlin had ever heard Leon falter

"Did they use magic?" Uther probed again, Leon took a step back as the king advanced.

"Well, I-"

"Yes or no it's a simple enough question"

"I only know that I drank from some kind of cup" Leon admitted

"Cup?"

"It was extraordinary My Lord, the minute the cup touched my lips I could feel my life returning to me" Leon said finally

"Well," Uther faltered, "Your trials have left you weary, I'm sure, we must let him rest"

Arthur and Merlin exchanged looks as Uther left the room.

...

Gaius finished tending tot he tired man while the princes chatted to him about anything they could think of. Leaving the boys to their friend the leder men stepped outside, not suspecting that Leon had fallen asleep and that both princes were listening to the conversation through a crack in the door.

"It's remarkable sire he bares no sign of injury" Gaius sighed

"And the cup he spoke of?"

"From the description he gave I would say it is the Cup of Life" Gaius admitted, "The druids must of found it on the Isle of the Blessed"

"You are aware of what that cup can do?"

"Of course sire, but the druids are peaceful they would never use it for evil"

"We cannot promise that, the only safe place for that cup is Camelot's vaults"

"Sire-"

"I will send my sons to fetch it secretly"

"Are you sure that's wise?"

"We need to keep this kingdom safe from magic Gaius!"

The men separated leaving Merlin and Arthur crouched behind the door, worried.

"I thought the cup was safe on the Isle" Arthur cursed, "I should of bought it back here"

"If you had Leon would be dead" Merlin countered, "The druids will keep it safe"

"You know father will not rest until he has it, best we get it without killing anybody" Arthur argued, "Rather then him sending in half Camelot's army and slaughtering them all. We will destroy it"

"You can't though" Merlin hissed, "The cup is pure magic, it can't be destroyed"

"Well what can a cup do that's threatening anyway, why is everybody so worried?" Arthur asked, Merlin really wished he would research magic like he did.

"Many centuries ago, it fell into the possession of a great warlord. One night, he gathered his army before him" Merlin explained, "He took a drop of blood from each and every man and collected it in the Cup. Such was the vessel's power that the soldiers were made immortal where they stood"

"You can use a cup to make an immortal army?" Arthur gaped, Merlin nodded gravely.

...

The brothers packed their bags, as expected Uther wanted them to go alone, the mission was of the upmost secrecy. Leon had told them as much as he could, the druids resided in a cave not too far into Cenred's kingdom, just over the border near the deep forest.

"Do you think Morgana will be looking for the cup of life?" Merlin pipped up eventually

"Let's hope not" Arthur sighed, "If we push father much further I'm afraid he'll..."

"Break" Merlin supplied sadly, Arthur nodded.

**Sorry this is on the short side but it was quick :) I got so inspired when I got those reviews, I'll post the next bit as soon as I know how this chap was received **

**Up next, Arthur and Merlin begin their quest! I'm looking forward to the twist for breaking Uther, I hope nobody guesses it!**


	26. Chapter 26: The Coming of Arthur II

"I hate going to Cenred's kingdom" Merlin moaned, "Nothing good ever happens there"

"Don't be such a pessimist Merlin" Arthur teased, his horse following behind his brothers, "Be positive, perhaps this time e wont have any trouble!"

Merlin scoffed, completely unaware that behind him Arthur had just been struck by a dart, piercing his neck and knocking him off his horse. Merlin opened his mouth to start complaining again when a sharp pain in his neck distracted him, he turned to see a dart, however he didn't have long to study it because his eyes fell closed and he slid of his saddle onto the ground.

The next thing he was aware of was a group of blurry figures looking down at him. Arthur among them. They were standing in a deep pit with stone walls. After giving him a slap to wake him up Arthur carefully helped his brother to his feet, snapping at a man as he grabbed his shoulder.

"Touch me again, you die!" He threatened, Merlin just laughed

"Gwaine?"

"Still no manners I see" Gwaine teased, "Merlin my friend you look terrible!"

"Likewise!" Merlin grinned, he was happy to see the man again.

"What are you doing here?" Arthur asked, relaxing slightly

"Oh you know, wrong place, wrong time, wrong drink" Gwaine grinned

"Nothing's changed there then" Arthur sighed, "Where's Lancelot?"

"We got separated when Jarl took me" Gwaine muttered, "Haven't seen him in weeks"

"Jarl?" Merlin questioned

"This is his castle, lovely bloke, slave trader" Gwaine explained

"We're going to be sold as slaves?" Merlin gaped

"Alright you maggots" Announced a man from the top of the pit, assumably Jarl, "Who's ready to face my champion?"

Nobody moved.

"No volunteers?" Jarl whined, "Well I shall have to pick one of you toe rags myself then, how about you?"

His finger pointed at Merlin, Merlin flinched, he could of been wrong but he thought he saw a similar reaction from Arthur.

"My brother is weak" Arthur boasted, "I'd be ten times more entertaining"

"Arthur!" Merlin hissed, "I can-"

"I'm better with a sword and you know it" Arthur hissed right back

"Very well then" Jarl grinned, "But if you lose, I'll feed your brother to the crows, piece by stinking piece. Are you ready my champion?"

"I am"

Both princes swung around to face Gwaine, who had answered the call. He shrugged.

...

Arthur and Gwaine were tossed into a crude fighting ring made of bandits, Merlin was held back to watch by one of Jarls men. He gave Arthur and Gwaine a look that said _please be careful!_

"Alright, the rules are simple, one of you lives and one of you dies!" Jarl announced as a man chucked two slightly bunt swords into the arena, "If you cannot or will not finish off your opponent, I'll kill you both"

The men let out a series of yells for blood, Arthur and Gwaine just looked at each other, slowly picking up the swords and began to circle. It was Gwaine who acted first, swinging the sword powerfully, but clumsily, at Arthur who jumped back easily to avoid it. Pushed back into the ring by some greasy haired man Arthur had no choice but to lunge, metal clashed against metal, the sound almost drowned out the yells of the crowd.

"Take it easy will you?" Arthur panted

"It's gotta look convincing!" Gwaine hissed

Again they parted and dove back together, swords smashing against each strike and block. Both men were excellent fighters but even so, eventually Gwaine managed to disarm Arthur, who knocked him to the floor. Of course Gwaine 'accidentally' dropped his sword during this tackle and soon they were tumbling about on the floor.

"So far so good" Arthur grunted, Gwaine pushed his hand into his face, Arthur reciprocated

"What's next?"

"Um, there was no next" Arthur admitted

The two panicked slightly until suddenly the ropes that lined the ceiling were ablaze. Arthur had no doubt Merlin was behind it but he didn't hesitate, grabbing Gwaine and hauling him to his feet the pair rushed at Merlin, pushing him out the door while the bandits and Jarl yelled for water. The group didn't stop running until the castle was out of sight and they were safely in hidden in the trees of a near by forest.

"How did...you two...end up in...a hole like that?" Gwaine asked through pants

"Were...on a quest" Arthur admitted slowly

"To find the Cup of Life" Merlin finished, Arthur knocked him lightly over the head.

"What part of the word secret do you not understand?" Arthur groaned

"Gentlemen" Gwaine interrupted, "It seems, what ever it is you are doing, you could use some help"

The princes smiled.

"Come on, Jarl will be coming after us, let's keep moving" Merlin said finally.

The journey lead them deeper into the forest, it was going to take them days to walk the distance back to Camelot after they found the cup. Merlin was sorely missing his horse. The walk would of been pleasant were it not for Arthur and Gwaine's bickering over who would of won their fight had they really been trying. Finally Arthur stopped outside the mouth of a moss covered cave leading into the earth.

"This it?" Gwaine asked, Merlin nodded, he could sense the weak magic of the druids.

The inside of the cave had a homely feel to it, the arm light of candles and red material seemed to take away from the fact it was a dark dank cave. Strips of material decorated the place, roughly made furniture was scattered about however there were no druids.

"Hello?" Merlin called, "We come in peace"

"We just want to talk" Arthur yelled. After a few minutes a small boy poked his head out from under a table and looked at them before rushing off down the cave, bringing the rest of the group back with him.

A white haired man in a greek cloak approached them.

"You seek the Cup of Life" He stated, how did druid do that? The trio nodded.

"It is yours" He said handing over the gold goblet without batting an eye lid, "I have no doubt if we do not give it to you, Uther will simply use force"

Arthur took the cup from his hand slowly.

"You must know, that you are meddling with a power you do not understand" The druid told him, "You must tread cautiously"

"I'll take my chances" Arthur whispered, "Let's go"

_Emrys, _Called the druid telepathically, _The cup is in your care now, guard it well. The future of this land depends on it._

_..._

As they walked, silence was their only companion. Merlin knew Arthur was worried as he was. The cup would be safe in the vaults at Camelot, the problem was getting it there safely. Merlin really hated silence, he resisted the urge to growl in annoyance, Arthur wouldn't mind but Gwaine might start asking questions if he did. Suddenly he stopped.

"Arthur, it's too quiet" He said finally, the other two stopped and listened as well, no bird song, no animals. It wasn't right. This was proven seconds later as men barring Cenred's crest appeared over the rise, swords drawn.

"Go!" Yelled Arthur pushing Merlin behind him and running.

Merlin bolted, splitting from Arthur, enough so that the men had to split up as well, but close enough that he could hear his brother should he need him. Which turned out to be a good idea because seconds later he heard a short cry from Arthur. He ran towards the sound, arriving in time to see a solider holding the cup as he stood over an unconscious Arthur, he had an arrow in his leg. Merlin didn't even bother with a spell, simply pushed his magic outward with a wave of his hand, sending the solider flying and sadly, the cup as well.

Merlin ran trying to catch it before it rolled down the hill side but he was too slow, the cup landed in the outstretched hands of Cenred's man. He looked on as the men ran, glancing back to Arthur. What should he do? He bit his lip and turned back to help his brother.

Arthur came first, Arthur always came first.

**Please review :) It keeps me writing **


	27. Chapter 27: The Coming of Arthur III

Arthur was still unconscious when the sun set, it worried Merlin to no end. Gwaine lit a fire while he tended to his brother, the wound stank and bled terribly. The arrow must of been poisoned, by the looks of it, not a deadly poison, thank the gods. The younger prince placed his head on his brothers shivering forehead.

"He's got a fever we need to keep him warm" He swallowed, taking off his thick jacket and placing it over Arthur as a make shift blanket.

"I don't get it, why all this bugger over a cup?" Gwaine asked

"Because in the wrong hands it can be a terrible weapon" Merlin answered

"Not too great Cenred has it then" Gwaine mused

"Its worse than you can possibly imagine" Merlin snapped, checking Arthur's temperature again. At this very moment Cenred could be creating an immortal army, and if he was right, Morgause and Morgana would be helping him.

...

Uther paced the great hall, there was no sign of either of his sons. He'd sent the patrols to check the outer borders of the kingdom and still nothing. He was worried beyond belief.

"They should of been back by now" He growled

"Sire I'm sure there is an explanation" Sir Leon tried

"You know as well as I do they've been gone too long" The king snapped, "Search for them, I don't care what it takes, find them"

...

Merlin watched his brother tremble, gasping for air every few seconds, he couldn't stand it. He needed to try to heal him at least.

"We need fire wood" Merlin suggested hoping Gwaine would take the bait.

"You're right about that"

"Do you want to go and get some?"

"Not really"

"There's wolves out there...bears, boars..."

"Merlin, if you want to stay with your brother that's fine you know" Gwaine laughed standing up and stretching his legs, "I'll go get some damn fire wood, but if I get mauled by some wild animal gathering it, don't tell anybody"

Merlin forced a laugh as Gwaine left, waiting until he disappeared behind the tree line before he practically dove to his brothers side, placing his hand over the wound.

"Ge hailige" Nothing.

"Ge hailige!" Still nothing.

"Come on!" Merlin urged frustrated, "Arthur come on!"

He flashed back to the day when Arthur had been shot with that arrow, eh'd been helpless then as well. Thankfully Arthur's life wasn't in danger now but still, why was he so hopeless at healing magic? The next possible moment he had the chance he would spend every moment practicing it.

...

Arthur coughed, his throat felt painfully dry. Slowly his awareness took hold and he realized he was laying on the ground, funny, he didn't remember falling asleep. Something warm was covering his top half, he blinked his eyes open to see that it was Merlin's jacket. His brother was fast asleep, leaning against a tree not to far away. Gwaine as well. He felt for the leather pouch, it was empty.

"Where's the cup?" He asked, the two men woke suddenly, "Where's the cup?"

"Cenred's men, they took it" Merlin admitted

"Then what are we still doing here?" He cried

"You were unconscious" Merlin supplied

"Always an excuse" The elder growled as he stood only to give a small hiss of pain, his leg almost buckled, it would of had Merlin not come to his aid, helping him to his feet. His blasted leg would hardly take any weight but that didn't matter.

"We have to get back to Camelot"

...

Uther felt cold as he listened to Sir Leon's report. When the knight had returned, once again alone, pale faced and frightened Uther had at first feared his sons were dead. However the news he bought was not any better. An army of men that could not die, how do you fight such a thing?

"We must convene the council of war" Uther announced

"Sire it's no use" Sir Leon implored, "They will not die, we cannot fight them"

"Gather the knights prepare what ever defenses you can" Uther supplied desperately, he wouldn't fall to Cenred and his army, he wouldn't!

"But Sire-"

"Do it!" He bellowed

He wouldn't lose! He refused. Even as the army surrounded the city, he refused to give in.

...

The princes stood with their friend on the hill, looking over the burning remains of a village, it was not the first they had seen. Arthur insisted on going on, even with his limp getting worse with every step. When they came across a Camelot patrol they stopped, the second patrol to fall this way in a mere week.

"Arthur, there is not a single enemy body" Merlin pointed out, "Only Camelot's knights"

"you're right" Arthur muttered, "This wasn't a fight it was a slaughter"

"Who could of done such a thing?" Gwaine wondered aloud, Arthur turned to Merlin.

"An army of men who cannot die" He supplied, Merlin nodded.

They walked in silence for a few minutes, soon they would be home. However when the white walls of the castle came into view Merlin felt nothing but horror. The castle smoked, as did the surround town, they were too late, Camelot had been attacked. They made their way down to the road that lead to the city, it was littered with bodies.

"They never stood a chance" Arthur breathed

The town was the same, small fires still burnt and the air was thick with smoke and the smell of blood. Bodies, not only of knights but of peasants were strewn over the roads. Nobody was in sight, not a living soul.

"Gwen" Arthur said simply, heading for her house, Merlin didn't question him. Gwaine kicked open the door to the small cottage, the inside was dark and gloomy, Gwen wasn't there. Arthur wandered inside the little house, searching, he neared the back room, ready to look inside. A loud shout startled him as a dark skinned man with a sword jumped from his hiding place ready to attack.

"Who are you?" He sneered

"I'm Prince Arthur, this is my brother Merlin and our friend Gwaine" Arthur supplied, not lowering his sword, "Who are you?"

"Elyan" The man provided, "Gwen's brother"

"Where is she?" Arthur asked hurriedly, "Is she alright?"

"She spoke about you" He supplied shakily,

"Where is she?" Arthur asked again

"She was in the citadel when they came" Elyan replied, "They came out of nowhere, we fought and fought but they wouldn't die! No matter what hit them, they just kept coming..."

"There is still hope" Merlin interrupted, "Gwen was in the citdel, she should be safe"

"Sires..." Elyan said quietly, "The citadel... it's been taken"

There was silence for a long time after that. If the citadel had been taken, Camelot was lost, the enemy had her now and that meant the enemy not only had Gwen but their father too. Arthur ran out of the house, well limped, heading up to the castle, his brother, Gwaine and new friend Elyan right behind him. Merlin bit his lip, if his leg got any worse he would barely be able to stand. The infection was getting worse.

They managed to make it inside the castle without hassle, there were no guards, why would they needs them? A few soldiers patrolled the halls but the small group managed to avoid them. They made it to the second floor coridor before Arthur was forced to stop.

"Where now?" Gwaine asked

"Now uh...now we um..." Arthur stumbled over the words with glassy eyes

"Arthur!" Merlin grabbed his arm to steady him, "You can't go on"

"We must..." Arthur argued feebly, "Find the others..."

"You can't go on without treatment" Merlin whispered

"Gwen..father..."

"Elyan, go with Gwaine" Merlin ordered, "He knows the way to the dungeons, see if you can find them"

Elyan and Gwaine nodded, taking off down the hall.

"I'm going with them" Arthur announced almost falling over as he tried to stand, Merlin caught him.

"No you're not" He rebutted, looping one of the brothers arms around his neck, "You're coming with me"

Carefully Merlin deposited Arthur onto one of the benches in Gaius's dark chambers, ordering him to stay as still as possible. A small sound made his ears, a smashing vile, somebody was in the cupboard. Swallowing nervously he drew his sword and walked toward the cupboard, flicking it open.

"Gaius!"

"Merlin!"

He embraced the old man fondly, it was so good to see a friendly face. He almost forgot about Arthur until he gave a pained groan. Gaius looked over the wound hissing with disapproval.

"I need to redress this to reduce the inflammation"

"No, no just give me something for the pain" Arthur ordered

"Yes sire..."

"The king!" Elyan yelled entering the room, "Guards are taking him to the throne room"

"He's alive" Merlin sighed with relief, Arthur guzzled down the pain reliever Gaius handed him, standing up immediately.

"Alright, you two take Gaius and get to the woods beyond the castle" Arthur ordered, "Merlin and I are going to get our father"

He ran off before anybody could question it, Merlin groaned and took off after him.

**I wanted to finish Part 1 in this chapter but I couldn't so you will just have to wait. I am really enjoying writing about this bit and I really, REALLY love hearing your thoughts**


	28. Chapter 28: The Coming of Arthur IV

The two made their way down the dark corridor, Arthur's limp had much improved but still, it worried Merlin. More than once Arthur faltered when they dove into alcoved to hide from the increasing number of guards. Quietly they laid down on the floor on the balcony above the throne room, peering through the wooden rungs. A large crowd of men, baring a red tree on black filled the room. They were not Cenred's men, at least, that wasn't his crest. They bit their lips as Uther was forced to kneel in front of Morgause, perhaps the symbol was hers. He had been right, she was behind this, probably used Cenred to her advantage. He wondered where the evil king was.

"Well Uther, how the mighty have fallen" She grinned, the princes bit down on their fists in order to keep quiet.

"I don't think you will be needing this anymore" She grinned, taking the crown from Uther's head.

"This is unlawful, you cannot do this!" He hissed before bellowing, "You have no right to the throne!"

"No" came a cool, perfectly smooth voice. It sent a stab of pain through Merlin's heart. That voice was once kind and gentle, now it held no warmth, just bitterness. Morgana stepped out from the shadows, she looked as beautiful as ever, even with the evil smirk on her face.

"But I do, I am your daughter after all" She smiled, her pale white dress clashed with the darkness of the rest of the room, "Sister?"

Morgause smiled, Merlin gaped. Morgause and Morgana, they couldn't be...

Morgana sat on the throne, Morgause pushed Geoffery forwards, in his hands was an old and disused crown. Made for a queen. Nobody had donned that since Ygraine's death.

"By the power vested in me" Geoffery began, Merlin could tell he hated every word, "I crown thee, Morgana Pendragon, Queen of Camelot"

"We can't let her do this!" Arthur whispered, Merlin held him back.

"Those soldiers are immortal you'll be cut to ribbons!" He whispered, "You're no use dead, come on, we need to find the others, we'll think of a plan"

...

Merlin ran through the trees, desperately trying to evade Morgause's henchmen. Luckily he knew the forest well and managed to lose them by ducking under a ridge. A week. An entire week had pasted since Morgana had been crowned queen and it had not been easy. Finding a place to stay was no difficult, the cave was adequate, but not comfortable. He had managed to learn from his brief trips to the lower town that Cenred was dead, his forces completely under Morgause's control. However the prince was now a wanted man, he couldn't stay to find out much more. Now he only ventured forth to gather merge food or water.

Merlin scrambled into their home away from home, panting for breath, he handed Elyan the satchel of berries and nuts he'd been able to gather in exchange for the water gourd. Unfortunately it was empty.

"I'll get more" Elyan offered, Merlin shook his head.

"It's too dangerous" He insisted, "Morgause's men are everywhere"

...

Uther watched, helplessly from his place in the cell as his people were shot with cross bows. Morgana had made out that she was going to shoot the knights for not pledging allegiance to her, then turned on the people. They were only now clearing the bodies away. The heavy iron doors clicked and he turned to see Morgana walk in, smiling happily.

"Father" She greeted cooly

"Why are you doing this?" Uther asked, desperate to understand

"You of all people should understand" She said simply, "Sometimes such measures are necessary"

"Those people, were innocent!" He exclaimed, pulling on the chains that bound him to the wall.

"As were so many that you put to death" She sneered

"If you must kill some one, kill me" He begged, his heart had been cracked and on the verge of breaking ever since her betrayal, he was barely holding on.

"You'll get your wish, but not yet" She replied in hushed tones, "I want you to suffer as I did, to be alone and afraid"

"Do you really hate me so much?" The king had wanted to ask that since the first moment of her deceit. She turned, ready to leave, gracing him with her presence for only a few extra seconds.

"You cannot begin to know how much a I hate you"

...

Arthur sat on the ground, his leg was almost completely healed now but for some reason all his intensive and motivation was gone. He wondered if his father was still alive, surely he was, if he was dead he'd of heard about it by now. His vision of the cave wall was suddenly interrupted by Merlin's kneeling form, holding out a bowl for him.

"It's rat" He grinned

"Leave me in peace Merlin" Arthur sighed, "Please"

"Come on Arthur" Merlin urged, "We need to protect Camelot"

"We cannot, defeat an immortal army!" Arthur argued, "You can't kill something that's the living dead!"

"Living dead..." Merlin mused his eyes widening as he jumped to his feet, dropping the dried meat as he went, "You can't kill something that's already dead!"

"Yes Merlin well done!" Arthur yelled sarcastically

"No Arthur don't you see?" He gaped, "We can kill something that's already dead! Well you can"

"What are you talking about Merlin?" Arthur asked getting a little concerned that the lack of food was getting to his brother.

"The wraith Arthur" Merlin sighed, "The special sword, remember I made it for you and it could kill the living dead so maybe-"

"It can kill the members of Morgana's immortal army!" Arthur finished, jumping to his feet and unsheathing the sword, he took it everywhere with him, his smile didn't last long though, "Well, one sword isn't going to work"

"One sword is all we need" Merlin insisted, we sneak into the castle, using the sword as protection, find the cup of life and use the sword to break the enchantment, I'll bet spilling the blood isn't enough. Using the sword will guarantee we stop Morgana's army"

"How will we do ti though, get into the castle?" Arthur asked finally, Merlin was stumped.

"I don't know if it will make much of a difference but we could help"

The princes looked up to see Lancelot and a man they did not recognize standing in the doorway.

"I decided the best place to look for Gwaine was to find the most trouble possible, he'd be in the middle of it" Lancelot grinned, "I was right"

"Man it's good to see you!" Gwaine laughed clamping him on the back, "Though did you have to replace me so fast?"

The group laughed, for the first time in a week.

"This is Percival" Lancelot introduced, "He's been great company and he want to help"

Arthur felt his energy returning, maybe, just maybe they could do this. They spent the next few hours planning, they would go to the abandoned castle on the outskirts of the city. There would be supplies there, old weapons true but weapons none the less. The moved out at dusk, ready to use cover of darkness. Suddenly a twig snapped, the group froze only to see a grinning Sir Leon and Gwen appear over the ridge. She practically flew into Arthur's arms. He was so, so glad to see her safe.

The castle was daunting, but it would do. They would spend the night planning and then they would set off. They would take down the army, they would reclaim their kingdom and they would save their father.

And Arthur had a feeling that with his brother by his side, he could do anything.

**Sorry this last bit is a tad rushed but honestly I really just want to get to the battle I've written up in my head. I've had the battle with the immortal army and the breaking of Uther's spirit planned since January. JANUARY! **

**I really just want to get on with it but there is so much build up to be written! ARGH**


	29. Chapter 29: The Coming of Arthur V

The castle was cold and covered with cobwebs, the furniture was sparse and there were very few candles, however it was a welcome change from the cave. Merlin couldn't figure out why they hadn't come here in the first place. They set about lighting the fires and candles to give the dank place light and warmth, there was nothing they could do about the cobwebs though, so they stayed. Percival and Gwaine managed to find abandoned weapons, as expected and soon the group were sorting through them, trying to find ones that complimented them to use.

"Here!" Arthur called, indicating to a table he had just uncovered, "Come and join me"

The table was ornate, beautiful and strangely familiar to Merlin. He was sur ehe had seen it in one of his books. They all sat down, there was a place for each of them, Merlin and Gwen sat either side of Arthur.

"This table, belonged to the ancient kings of Camelot" Arthur explained, "A round table made it so no one man was more important than any other. They believed in equality, so it only seems fit, we revive this tradition, now"

"Without each of you, we would not be here" Arthur continued, "Tomorrow, I am going to take back Camelot, and free my father. Are there any around thi table who will join me?"

Lancelot was first to stand.

"You taught me that being nobel isn't your blood" He said, "It's about who you are. I believe in the world you will build"

"You saved my sister" Elyan stood, "Your a good man"

"I've fought alongside you many times" Sir Leon stood, "And I'll fight with you many more"

"I think, we haven't got a chance" Gwaine said, before grinning and getting to his feet, "But I wouldn't miss it for the world"

"Your enemies are my enemies" Percival said simply as he also stood, "That makes you my friend"

"If you need an old man" Gaius sighed pushing himself out of the chair.

"You know the answer" Gwen whispered, leaving all members of the table, save Merlin.

"Well brother?" Arthur asked

"Nah, don't really fancy it" Merlin jibed

"You don't have a choice" Arthur pointed out

"Yeah, ok" Merlin jumped to his feet, turning serious and nodding at Arthur. He knew he'd follow him into hell and back.

"I want to thank you all" Arthur said sincerely, unsheathing his sword, "And now, it's time to do something my father wont approve of"

Merlin looked on proudly as Arthur knighted Lancelot, Gwaine, Elyan and Percival. He could see the excitement in Lancelot's eyes, this was something he had always wanted. Tomorrow they would fight, this small band of the most unlikely people.

The crown prince.

His brother the warlock raised as a peasant.

The servant girl, who loved the prince.

The now knighted nobel hater.

The quiet giant.

The noblest of all commoners.

The blacksmith.

The physician.

The knight.

A small group of unlikely warriors and even though Morgana had an immortal army. They had immortal spirit.

...

Arthur and Merlin laid on the ground side by side near one of the fires, covered by thin blankets they had managed to find in the depths of the castle. It was late and everybody was doing their best to rest for the huge day ahead, a day that could be their last.

"Arthur, are you worried?" Asked Merlin finally.

"I'm worried for father and Gwen" Arthur admitted after a few moments, "And you"

"Here" Merlin handed him a small pouch, "I carved it when I was stuck in the cave a few days ago, I never got around to giving it to you"

Arthur emptied the pouch to find a small, but very well carved stone bear. It's face and front paws, the bottom was just smooth stone, in a way it looked unfinished but Arthur liked it that way, it was attached to some simple string to be worn around the neck.

"I though it might bring you luck" Merlin blushed, For a moment Arthur was back in Merlin's room, laying on the rug as he explained the meaning on his name in the language of magic.

Stone Bear.

"Thankyou" Arthur breathed placing it around his neck, "When this whole mess is over, I'll carve a falcon"

"You can't carve" Merlin snickered, Arthur reached out and batted at him, though he was too far away to really hit.

"I'll do it" Arthur replied sternly, "You'll see"

"What just cause your the future king you think you can be good at everything?" Merlin jibed

"Yes actually"

They both laughed, falling asleep was suddenly much easier.

...

When he had fallen asleep he had been lighthearted, full of hope. ow that morning was here, Arthur was tense. In a few minutes they would all leave, save Gaius and Gwen who were staying behind. He wouldn't put her in danger again, she was too precious to him. In a way he wished he could make Merlin stay as well, but he also needed his brother at his side.

"I want you to make bandages" He told Gwen, "There will be casualties..."

"Alright" She nodded, walking to the side to help Gaius but he stopped her.

"They'll see" She whispered

"I don't care" Arthur insisted, he really didn't anymore.

"If...I never see you again" He started

"You will" Gwen insisted placing a hand on his cheek, "I watched you last night, you gave us hope, something to believe in. I saw the king you will become"

They kissed, it could of been an hour or a minute Arthur really couldn't tell, all he knew is he would fight harder than he ever had in his life in order to get back to her.

...

Merlin stood watching his brother, he could see Excalibur shining in it's sheath, they would be leaving any moment. Gaius came and stood before him.

"You will be careful?" He insisted

"Of course Gaius" Merlin replied, "Everything will be fine"

"I remember" Gaius mused, "That bumbling idiot who came into my chambers all those years ago. Who'd of thought, that he'd become a prince?"

...

Merlin had been in many battles, but never, had he been trying to infiltrate his own castle. For the first time, the huge stone walls were menacing, though not nearly as much as the guards on it's walls of course. The small iron door that lead into the dungeons was in sight, taking a deep breath, Merlin lead the group out of the tree cover and over to the still overflowing moat, it was thin here, just thin enough to slide a nearby log across to climb over. Percival kicked the log back into the swirling grey waters once they were all safely across to hide any signs they were here. Then, it was into the belly of the castle.

**FINALLY! I CAN START MY HALF AU BATTLE! It's about time! For some reason, my email alerts are not coming through and from the lack of reviews on the last chapter I'd say I'm not the only one and that SUCKS. I hope they fix it soon.**


	30. Chapter 30: The Coming of Arthur VI

"Alright" Arthur whispered once they were inside, "Percival, Lancelot, Gwaine and Elyan you do your best to free as many prisoners as possible and find my father. Merlin and I are going after Morgana and the cup, Leon you cover us"

They add gave a silent nod and ducked into the belly of the castle. Merlin and Arthur ran through the corridors, Leon just behind them, trying to figure out where Morgana would keep the source of the enchantment. At first Merlin thought perhaps the crypts, that is where she kept the staff the raised the skeletons after all. However when they began to run the warlock was almost knocked over by a wave of powerful magic, it left him gasping.

"Merlin?"

"I can sense the cup Arthur" Merlin replied smoothly, "That way, on the floor above us"

"Sires!" Leon yelled, bring the large platoon of warriors to their attention, large platoon of immortal warriors. The warning bell rang out, seems the others had started to make a fuss in the dungeon.

"You two to your best to defend and feed them towards me!" Arthur yelled drawing his sword; he smirked as he sliced through the first man who exploded into fire and ash. Being immortal had made these men cocky, they no longer defended, why would they? Though, once then men saw one of the princes had the ability to kill them they became formidable once more, Arthur narrowly dodged a strike at his head, the sharp blade left a deep cut on his cheek. However he didn't even register it, he simply swung his sword, and the man burst into flames. Soon there were only three men left, one of which Leon managed to throw out a window, the fall wouldn't kill him of course but at least he was out of the way. The knight gave Arthur a nod and duck around the corner to see if there were more enemies on the way. Arthur killed his opponent just in time to hear a cry of pain from behind him. Merlin!

The younger prince was clutching his side, Arthur could tell from the angle that his brother had barley dodged a stab and now a large amount of blood was soaking through his ripped chainmail. Thank god for chainmail or he would have been dead by now. Seeing red for a moment, Arthur stabbed the man who had hurt his brother right through the chest, another explosion of ash. With the heat of battle gone Merlin dropped his sword and fell, feeling his heart clench Arthur gathered him up in his arms, pressing his own hands against the wound.

"Merlin!"

"Arthur?" Merlin blinked for a few seconds and bought his fingers to the side of his brother's face, "You're bleeding"

"I think you need to work out your priorities Merlin" Arthur smiled slightly with worry helping Merlin to sit up, "We need to get your out f here"

"No, I can still fight" His eyes glowed yellow for a few seconds, hand over the wound, "hegstæf æðeling, angsumnes"

The wound stopped weeping blood almost immediately and Merlin got to his feet as easily as he would without a huge gash in his side, but he stumbled as he did.

"I can't replace the blood I've lost" He muttered, "But I've stopped the blood low and numbed the pain for now"

"Merlin-"

"I'm not leaving!" He snapped, the argument was stopped there as Leon returned, the rest of the knights in tow and Uther. They all looked out of breath.

"Father!" Both princes cried

"Arthur, Merlin, thank god" Uther breathed, leaning heavily on his knees.

"We need to move, we freed as many as we could but the guards are coming!" Elyan announced. Arthur nodded, looking to Merlin to lead the way to the cup.

They ran, the sounds of immortal fighters footsteps gaining on them. Up the winding staircase until Merlin could feel the cups power radiating from behind a thick wooden door. Why were there no guards? They must of left their post to help when they heard the warning bells.

"We will defend you from out here" Percival yelled, "Go!"

Feeling bad about leaving their new friends Arthur nodded and ducked into the room, Lancelot, Merlin and Uther joined him before bolting the doors shut. Leaving Gwaine, Percival, Elyan and Leon to defend. The golden cup sat in the middle of the room on a stone pedestal.

"Quick Arthur!" Merlin urged, the elder prince ran forward, sword raised ready to hit the cup when he flew backwards, by some powerful invisible force. Morgause stepped out from behind one of the stone pillars, she looked livid.

"Well, well, it seems we have a pest problem" She growled, "Astrice!"

The spell sent all those in the room flying and the walls cracked sending pieces of heavy stone to the ground; Arthur winced as he heard the sound of Lancelot's arm breaking as he hit the pillar. The king managed to pull himself up against a pillar for support the wind had been knocked out of him and he was obviously weak from his time in the dungeons.

Arthur moved to get up but found himself held down by Morgause's magic, he struggled but it was no use, his sword laid loosely in his hand, useless.

"Now, let's get rid of the sword shall we?" Morgause smiled leaning over to grab Excalibur.

"No!" Merlin yelled, he had stood up, Morgause had assumed he was down for the count, piece of stone debris in his hand he threw it. Morgause laughed and easily dodged but Merlin smiled, his back to the king and Morgause's eyes were busy dodging neither saw his, eyes glowed bright gold, the roof above her cracked and crumbled, she barely had time to gasp as a large piece of stone came falling down, smashing into her skull.

Arthur gasped as he was released from the magic, immediately picking up his sword and swinging it. The sound of clashing metal made his ears ring, the blood spilled from the cup, flying through the air and dripping down a cracked stone pillar. God he hoped it worked. Before he hand long to think about it he heard a number of cries from outside, the doors flew open and there was Morgana, her fury turned to pain when she saw her sister crumped on the floor.

"No! No!" She cried, gathering Morgause in her arms, "Sister…"

"You bought this on yourself" Uther declared, looking slightly manic.

"It's over Morgana" Merlin said weakly, his wound was bleeding again, the magic was wearing off he was too weak to maintain it.

"No you're wrong, this has only just begun!" She yelled and then she screamed. It was an ear piecing wail that filled Arthur's ears with even more ringing, her eyes blazed, the windows smashed, the walls cracked, the back wall opposite the door crumbled, leaving a gaping hole in the wall letting the light of the stars in. The battle had raged all afternoon and Arthur hadn't even registered it.

"Your army is gone, stop this!" Merlin yelled, his arm was nursing his wound again, Arthur needed to get him a doctor before he bled out. He began to walk toward him, ready to support his brother when Morgana's eyes lit up again.

"I hate you! Both of you!" She screamed, "All of you!"

Her eyes burnt bright gold once more and another invisible force knocked them back, Arthur was vaguely aware of somebody pushing him forwards, stopping him from flying out the gaping hole in the wall, he landed on the hard floor on his knees. He turned just in time to see Merlin fly backwards, right out of the hole he had stopped Arthur falling out of.

"MERLIN!" Both the king and the prince bellowed, Arthur had never heard such pain in his fathers voice before. Forgetting Morgana completely Arthur ran to the edge of the wall, looking down to the ground, there was still splash marls in the water, the swirling grey water had swallowed Merlin whole. Blue eyes danced over the swirling surface, desperately trying to sight his brother. He couldn't.

He turned back to face Morgana, his face now filled with the fury hers had been mere minutes ago but she was gone, Morgause as well, she must of used magic to escape.

The prince felt dizzy, Merlin was bleeding and weak, he couldn't fight the current, he couldn't of, but he had to because if he didn't that would mean…no he couldn't be dead. Right? He couldn't.

He was vaguely aware of the other knights bursting in helping his father and Lancelot, something about Morgana knocking them out. Asking what happened, where was Merlin? Then he was being lead to a wall and he slid down it until he was sitting on the floor. Then Gaius was there, why was Gaius here? Wasn't he back at the Ancient Kings Castle?

"Sire!"

He ignored them. He didn't want them, he wanted his brother.

**And that my friends, is how I break Uther :P Don't worry, plenty more chapters coming. More twists a coming. And yes I am doing season 4. **

**The scene where Arthur is holding Merlin was inspired by the picture "Priorities" by budgiefreak on DeviantART**


	31. Chapter 31: Crystal

For a few seconds the air rushed around him as he fell then suddenly it was all gone, replaced with frigid grey waters. They threw Merlin's body around like a rag doll, the swirling waters were impossible to escape, he couldn't tell which was up. By the time he broke the surface he had swallowed a fair amount of water, coughing and spluttering he grasped the empty waters, trying to find something to grab a hold of. It was only a matter of seconds before he was forced back down under the rushing current.

He was bashed against rocks and logs, really anything that had been swept into the river before him, he felt himself get dumped into the main river and washed away from Camelot. He reached around again, desperately trying to force himself above the waters to breath, his lungs burned terribly. His hand found mud, he pulled himself up onto a bank laying on his back, not very far though, he was too weak from blood loss. His legs still dangled in the water, threatening to pull him back in.

"Emrys"

Who was that? He blinked trying to clear his vision.

"Emrys!"

"Talisen?" Merlin murmured, feeling dizzy, somebody grabbed his shoulders. It was Talisen, how was he here?

"Emrys you are dying, you have to save yourself!" Talisen ordered, Merlin was too tried, he just wanted to sleep…

"No! You must stay awake!" Talisen implored, "I will help you, force your magic towards me, I will focus it"

Merlin nodded numbly trying to direct his power towards the man, as he did he felt it returning to him, more powerful, filling his limbs. He gasped as the main in his legs began to numb, he looked down to see his feet being encased in crystal, just like in the nightmares and visions he'd had. However they didn't burn him as they had in the dream, they numbed him, he could feel the crystals slowly healing him as they encased him further, almost completely within a few minutes. Only his shoulder and head were left, he began to feel panicked.

"Do not worry" Talisen hushed, "These will heal you, you will sleep until your destiny find you"

"Arthur?" Merlin asked stupidly, he couldn't focus, Talisen nodded, though it was hard to tell, his vision was swimming.

"He will find you do not worry" Talisen promised letting Merlin go as the crystals encased him fully, leaving Merlin just enough time to close his eyes before the process was complete. The warlock was vaguely aware of his crystal tomb slipping back under the water, sinking to the bottom of the moat, nestling itself in the mud. However he didn't need to breath anymore, he was just tired. So he slept.

…

Nine months. Three seasons. Almost an entire year had passed. For nine months Arthur had felt hopelessly empty without his brother. He still had Gwen of course and thank God he did, without her he would never of coped. In a way he still had his father, but not really. Uther was a shell of his former self. Morgana's betrayal had almost destroyed him, Merlin's death had been the final piece of a terrible puzzle. It had completely broken his father, so much so that he had to take over as regent. His father just sat at his window all day, staring, he barely ate anymore, he was withering away.

They had searched the river straight away, the forests, even the nearby towns; nobody had even seen the lost prince. For weeks, months Arthur searched. He saw the pitying looks of the people as he walked out of the city every day, backpack over his shoulders. Everybody knew he was out looking for Merlin. After three months he had to stop, partly because he had to take care of Camelot as regent, but mostly because he just couldn't bare the disappointment anymore.

He had been in a particularly dark mood all week, barely talking, just working. Trying to drown himself in paper work so he didn't have time to think. It was Gwaine's idea, a hunting trip, just a day one. On the outskirts of the city. Just to get some fresh air. All the Knights of the Round Table wanted to go and they wanted Arthur there too. He had been reluctant at first but Gwen urged him to go, saying it would be good for him. She had been right in a way, it was good to get out, chasing and riding again. He felt comforted knowing the stone bear that Merlin carved for him was around his neck, protecting him.

After a few hours he spotted a prize stag bounding through the trees, Arthur gave chase actually enjoying himself, it was a rare occurrence. He hesitated when he got to the dried up moat. It had taken a month for the water to drain away but even now he found it eerie. In a way he was afraid to enter it, for all he knew, he could trip over his brothers bones. Biting his lip and telling himself off for being so stupid he dove down into the gully, looking for the deer. He cursed, in his hesitance he'd lost it.

He was about to turn around when something shiny caught his eye, an ivy bush, a shining ivy bush. Narrowing his eyes he walked over to it, he carefully pushed back some of the vines and gasped, it was crystal, a huge, clear crystal, it shone like diamonds. There was something inside it too, red and silver, perhaps there were more gems within it?

Quickly he got to work clearing of the vines until it was clear, he stood back to look at it and yelped. It was Merlin! Merlin was encased in crystal, he looked as if he was sleeping, not a single bruise or scratch on his skin. Arthur felt himself shaking, was this the druids doing? A kind of magical tomb preserving his brother forever? No, the druids wouldn't of put him at the bottom of a moat, so why? Trembling he reached out and touched the stone, it was warm and Arthur swore, he could feel a heart beat. After a few seconds of resting his hands on the surface it began to glow, Arthur gaped, shuffling back, watching with a mix of horror and wonder as the crystal began to melt like ice, but without leaving any water behind.

It only took a matter of seconds for the entire tomb to dissolve into thin air. Merlin was still perfectly still, then he opened his eyes. He opened them! He was alive! Arthur felt like he couldn't breath.

"What…?" Merlin muttered blinking heavily, Arthur carefully picked up Merlin, laying him against him in shock. He was alive, he really was alive!

"Merlin?" Arthur breathed still in shock; Merlin nodded dully rubbing his eyes.

"Had the weirdest dream Arthur…" Arthur let out a short laugh; only Merlin would say something so…Merlinsh.

"You're really ok?" Arthur asked checking him over, there wasn't even a scar.

"Yeah…" Merlin replied slowly sitting up, "I'm glad you found me"

Merlin quickly gave an explanation of what had happened, it was very vague however as Merlin had only been semi lucid for the entire experience. Merlin had only just finished when he felt Arthur's arms around him.

"Nine months, nine bloody months Merlin!" He half growled half sobbed, "Don't you ever, ever, do that again!"

He felt Merlin stiffen when he mentioned how long it had been.

"I didn't mean…"

"I know" Arthur interrupted, smiling, "You're of age now you know"

"I can't believe I missed my own birthday" Merlin growled, Arthur helped him to his feet, it took a few tries, Merlin's legs were weak from disuse.

"It's ok" Arthur announced, "My birthday is only a month away, we can share it"

Merlin beamed. God Arthur had missed that smile. That goofy, only Merlin can do it, smile. And for a few moments,

Everything was perfect.

**Sorry if this seems rushed…**


	32. Chapter 32: The Return

Arthur helped Merlin walk up the side of the trench, his legs still stiff. By the time they reached the flat field at the edge of the forest the other knights had gathered there, no doubt they had noticed Arthur's prolonged absence. Their jaws dropped when they saw Merlin, giving Arthur a thankful nod and pushing off only stumbling slight as he supposed his own weight fully. Gwaine was the first one to speak, rather, yell.

"Mate!" He cried hugging the prince briefly

"Where have you been?" Leon grinned

"You're still wearing the same clothes" Percival noted quietly, "The rips are even in the same place, but, no wounds..."

"I was saved, by the druids" Merlin supplied, "They put me under this spell, so I healed but I was in this deep sleep until Arthur found me. To me it was only a few hours ago we were fighting Morgana's army"

It wasn't completely a lie.

"We will need to figure something out to tell father though" Merlin continued, not noting everybody stiffen, "I don't want him to go and hunt the druids down or anything, their magic saved me and all..."

"Um, I don't think you should worry about it" Lancelot muttered, Merlin took in everybody's faces, he paled.

"He's not..."

"He's alive" Arthur supplied, "Well, he doesn't do much anymore but, he is alive"

"His mind had been fragile ever since Morgana's betrayal" Leon pointed out, "Everybody saw it"

"We think you, death, broke him" Elyan said finally, "He just sits there all day, barely eats or talks"

A huge wave of guilt crashed over the youngest prince, he felt awful, even worse than the time he poisoned Morgana. He'd broken his father. Him! It was all his fault, if only he hadn't stayed in that tomb, logically he knew there was no way he could of gotten out but still, it was his fault. He felt Arthur put a hand on his shoulder, he gave his brother small smile.

"Come on let's go home"

...

Getting through the town had been almost impossible, people screamed in shock and joy when they saw Merlin. He shook so many hands he thought his fingers might fall off, of course Gwen was so happy to see him she practically bowled him over with a hug. She was saying something Merlin couldn't make out, she had buried her face in his neck and was sobbing terribly. It made him feel even worse.

When Gaius first laid eyes on him as he entered the courtyard the prince was afraid he'd have a heart attack, he went so white.

"Merlin! How-?"

"I'll explain later Gaius" He smiled embracing the man who was a second father to him. To the warlock, he had been gone mere hours yet some some reason with every face he met he realized he'd missed them. He also feared going to see his father, he hoped his condition had been exaggerated, though he knew Arthur would never do such a thing. He hoped. God he hoped.

"Can, I go and see father now?" He asked quietly, it was barely above a whisper yet it sent the crowed into silence. Arthur nodded.

"Did I really hurt him so terribly?" Merlin asked as they made their way through the halls.

"No, it wasn't you Merlin" Arthur sighed, "It was too much for him, Morgana's betrayal so when...when we thought you were dead...it broke his heart"

The rest of the walk was in silence until they reached their fathers chamber. Slowly, Arthur opened the door, the room was dark and smelt musty. Taking a deep breath Merlin walked in.

"I'll be outside if you need me" Arthur whispered before closing the door.

Uther was sitting in a wooden chair facing the only uncovered window in the room. Merlin stood in shock, this couldn't be his father it was, wrong. Uther's hair had grown longer, but it was grey-white and thinning, his eyes were wide and staring but all the sharpness and wit was drained leaving them empty. He had a large amount of rough stubble on his chin and deep bags under his eyes, all the muscle had withered away, leaving his clothes practically hanging off his thin frame. Merlin bit his lip, He'd done this.

"Father?" He called gently, Uther didn't respond.

Swallowing, Merlin made his way over, carefully moving the second chair closer to the king so it was almost in front of him and sitting down. Uther blinked, looking confused, like he couldn't recognize the face in front of him.

"Merlin?" His voice was barely above a whisper

"Yes, it's me" Merlin replied warmly placing a hand over Uther's.

"So, I've died then...must of" Uther murmured

"No you haven't" Merlin insisted, "You're alive, we both are"

"No, that's not...right"

"It's true I promise" Merlin implored, "I'm so sorry it took me so long to come back"

"How?" Uther whispered grasping Merlin's hand weakly, "How can yu be here?"

"The river swept me far" Merlin lied, "It took me a long time to find Camelot again"

If Uther were of sound mind he would never of believed such a story, however with his spirit broken, he swallowed the story easily.

"You are...real?" Uther asked, obviously not trusting his eyes. Merlin smiled weakly.

"Of course I am"

They sat in silence for a very long time, Uther holding Merlin's hand like he was afraid if he let go his son would evaporate into thin air. After an hour Arthur entered to check on them with Gaius, the physician held out a small bottle of medicine to the king who drank it obediently. The princes helped their father to his bed, all the while the king never once let go of his youngest son.

"Don't worry" Merlin hushed as if speaking to a young sick child, "I'll be right here when you wake up"


	33. Chapter 33: The Darkest Hour I

2 Weeks Later

Merlin ran through the castle courtyard as fast as he could, ducking through a procession of knights and under a string of greenery the maids were hanging on the walls. He yelled an apology as he dashed through the halls avoiding the decorators as he went, Samhain preparations were well underway. The kitchen was full of steam and bustling people, swiftly he nicked a bun from a plate the head cook was carrying with a grin.

"Don't think that you can steal my food when ever you feel like it!" She snapped mockingly, she was never afraid to stand up to the princes.

"My parchment, I left it in here earlier-" He started noticing the scroll sitting on a counter near several cooked birds. He went to pick it up but was distracted by a hook being lowered from a vent. He looked up to see the smiling faces of Gwaine and Percival, they indicated for him to stay quiet, Merlin laughed. Discreetly he hooked it under one of the birds and gave the rope a tug for them, how they got it through the bars was a problem for them to figure out.

Finally he made his way up to his brother's room, where he was sitting at the large oak desk by the window looking frustrated.

"Still trying to write a speech?" Merlin asked

"Thank the Lords you will never be king Merlin," Arthur groaned, "It's a challenge."

"And you don't want any help?" Merlin probed.

"No." Arthur said stubbornly.

"You won't be wanting this then?" Merlin grinned offering him the parchment, "Worked all night."

His brother snatched it from him looking sour and glanced over it.

"Needs a polish." He said jealously, Merlin was always the better writer of the two of them. Merlin just laughed good-naturedly, he had no doubt he'd be writing more speeches for his brother in the future.

"Prince Merlin!" Will called coming into the chambers, "You're needed in your father's chambers."

Merlin sighed, he got this summons at least twice a day, he'd been hoping he would be spared today so he could help Arthur.

"Alright, I'm coming."

…

Since his return there were good days and bad days, on a good day Uther would simply want to talk and catch up with his younger son. On bad days he wouldn't talk at all and just hold his hand for hours on end or something along those lines. Gaius was sitting with Uther when he entered, the king was shakily placing his goblet back on the table, the tremors were terrible. Bad day then.

"I'm here Gaius," He sighed, "How is he?"

"His mental state is still weak, however he is slowly recovering." Gaius replied, he said something long those lines every day.

Gwen joined them after collecting the king's, still fully stocked, lunch plate. Merlin gave her an appreciative smile, she was doing a wonderful job as his nursemaid.

"You're so good to him Gwen." Merlin thanked.

"I don't do it for him, I do it for you and Arthur." She nodded sternly, "I'll stay with him tonight, he wont be going to the feast."

"I'd better go." Merlin sighed, The others gave him a nod of approval before departing leaving him and his father alone.

"You've not eaten father." He noted dryly, he hadn't called Uther sire since his return, he never responded to it. Uther gave him a glance but his eyes were blank, he was going to be here a while.

...

Ever since his fathers mental decent Arthur had been acting as regent, the work load was imense, he ddn't know what he was going to do when he was king. Right now he was standing facing the latest patrol of which only Leon and Elyan remained.

"The rmors are true sire," Leon reported, "We caught up with Morgana on the Plains of Denaria."

"Was she alone?" He asked.

"There was smebody else," Elyan shook his head, "We coudln't be sure, they were in a cart."

"Morgause." Arthur said flatly, he'd hoped the witch had died in the fight but Morgana had taken her before they had the chance to check.

"Where was Morgana heading?" Came a deep voice from the shadows of the room.

"We believe, the Sea's of Meridor. The Isle of the Blessednis there." Leon replied

"I'll send out patrols at first light." Announced the man from the shadows, Arthur smiled.

"Thankyou Agravaine." Arthur smiled

"Sire, you should know," Leon continued, "Her powers have grown."

"Keep me informed of any developments." Arthur dismissed them, leaving him alone with Agravaine.

"For months nothing, why now?" He asked.

"She couldn't stay hidden forever, today tomorrow what does it matter?" Agravaine asked, "We musn't live in fear Arthur. Camelot is strong, is Morgana were to attack, we'd be ready for her."

"You're right Uncle," Arthur smiled, "I don't know how we would of gotten through the last few months without you."

It was true, when he thought Merlin dead the prince had been sinking just as his father had, to a lesser degree. The added pressure of being regent had been a heavy burdan and it felt like salt on open wounds. When his uncle had arrived it had been a blessing to have somebody to advise him again. Merlin's return had been a God send and the prince was so happy to have his regular advisor back with him, Merlin's wisdom was unique. However Agravaine had the years of expirence neither prince had gaind yet and even now he was a great help to the elder prince.

"I made a promise to your mother," Agravaine said as Arthur exited the room, "I'd always be there for you."

Arthur chose to ignore the fact that Merlin was not part of said promise. His uncle didn't seem to like his brother all that much. Oh he was respectful and polite to the younger prince but he spoke only when it was needed and there were no kind words or advice like with Arthur. Agravaine often spent time helping Arthur with his workload or simply talking with him, his time spent with the younger Pendragon was only nominal at best.

"Arthur, where is Merlin?" Agravaine added before Arthur could leave, "Why is he not here for the announcment? I know his ordeal must of been tiring but he has only been to a handleful of meetings since his return."

"He's with father, it takes up his time." Arthur defended.

"If you say so My Lord." Agravaine bowed and Arthur finally left. He had to prepare for the feast tonight, it was the first celebration since Merlin's return. Initially he'd just announced it to the people, Merlin insisted there was no need to hold a feast of any kind, esspecially since the holiday was so close. Modest as always.

**Just a reminder that I am only writing from Merlin, Arthur or Uthers point's of view in this story. So Morgause and Morgana still do all their stuff but I don't write it.**

**Later on I might write Agravaine because it could be nessisary.**


	34. Chapter 34: The Darkest Hour II

The Samhain celebration was in full swing, the room was decorated with ivy and Camelot's colours, it was truly a great scene. Arthur and Merlin had joked and eaten for most of the night, they had not had time to relax together in a long time. Finally Arthur decided it was time for him to give 'his' speech, he couldn't help but notice the smug grin on Merlin's face as he stood. He followed suit and stood at Arthur's side, Agravaine on the other while the rooms occupants settled to listen.

"Saiham, it is the time of year when we feel closest to our ancestors." Arthur began, "It is a time to remember those we have lost, celebrate their passing."

"To the king!" He announced raising his glass, as did everybody else.

He turn and clinked glasses with Merlin just as the tower struck midnight, the bells signified now they were as close to the world of spirits as they could be, but they seemed to effect Merlin as well. The effects were instant his eyes went glassy, he began to shake and his breath trembled. Arthur didn't even have time to ask if he was ok before he leant backwards and slammed into the ground, eyes still half open.

The room went deathly quiet as the regent knelt at his brothers side, Lancelot came running over to help him. Merlin's skin was freezing, unnaturally so, this wasn't a normal sickness.

"Spread a rumor," Arthur hissed when he saw Lancelot make the same deduction, "My brother has been ill for some time due to his nine month ordeal, he was trying to hide it! And make sure our father doesn't hear of this!"

Lancelot nodded and quickly muttered something to the maids, they would spread it like wildfire. Gaius was quickly at their side helping to lift the still trembling prince up and take him to his chambers.

"I've never felt anybody so cold before..." Gaius gaped.

"What can I do?" Arthur asked hurriedly

"I need Hawthown to improve the blood flow." Gaius ordered, "And blankets, lot of blankets!"

...

It took a lot of convincing for Arthur to be pushed back downstairs tot he feast, eventually Percival convinced him to in order to keep everybody calm. Gaius sat at the princes side as he shivered through the night, he'd almost fallen asleep himself, then an icy hand grabbed his wrist. He jumped in shock but sighed in relief when he saw Merlin looking up at him bleary eyes. He was rapt with Merlin's story of the ancient woman.

"When she spoke...her voice, it was as if it came from the depths of the earth." he explained, "Her eyes, they were so sad, there was so much pain in them...Who is she?"

"The Cailleach." Gaius answered, he knew as soon as Merlin described her it could be no other, "The gatekeeper to the spirit world."

"WHy was she there?" Merlin asked, "WHy could couldn't anybody else see her?"

"It was on midnight of Samhain eve, that is when the veil between the worlds is at it's thinnest." Gaius explained, "As for why only you saw her, I think you know that."

"I'm Emrys." He sighed bitterly, Gaius nodded, "She called to me in my druid name."

"If the Cailleach did appear it could mean the veil between the worlds has been torn," Gaius said slowly, "If that's true, then may God help us all."

...

Arthur groaned when light invaded his vision, a dull thumping in his head told him he'd had too much to drink last night. Stupid.

"Rise and Shine!"

"Merlin!"

Arthur's headache was forgotten in seconds as he leapt to his feet to check his brother, who looked fine. However he'd learnt not to trust when Merlin looked fine, he could use magic and make up to cover it.

The warlock quickly explained the rip and the vision he'd had of the old woman with dead eyes, it made Arthur nervous. A rip in the veil of time and space? What could that do?

He'd been about to ask Merlin these questions when Leon burst into the room.

"Sire, you're needed in the council chambers!"

...

They arrived with Sir Leon in the council chambers to see a small crowd of people surrounding a peasant girl. She was pale and trembling terribly, the picture of fear, Merlin felt his stomach twist, something terrible ha happened.

"What happened?" Arthur whispered to Agravaine

"Her village was attacked?" He replied gravely

"By who?" Merlin asked, but Agravaine ignored him, opting to answer to Arthur.

"Not entirely sure sire."

Arthur made his way to the girl who looked at the floor, he leaned over to that he was at eye level with her and began speaking in a soft voice to inspire confidence. It was moments like this when Merlin saw the great king Arthur was destined to be.

"What's your name?" The future king asked

"Drea." She trembled.

"Drea, I'm Arthur," He smiled, "Don't be afraid. Tell me what happened."

"My mother, my father, my little sister…" She broke off with a small sob, Merlin's heart went out to her.

"It's all right." Arthur soothed, "Take your time. Who attacked your village?"

"They were just shaped, nobodies, like skeletons of smoke…" She whispered, "They did not even have faces!"

Arthur turned to Merlin as if seeking silent confirmation of magic, Merlin gave a small nod. He was sure no earthly bandits could become faceless.

"I- I keep telling you. They were there, but...they weren't there. They moved so quickly. It was as if they weren't real, but...they must've been. I could hear the people screaming!" Drea continued, now that the dam had opened it was like she could not stop, "Then…they were all dead…"

Gaius took the girl by the hand and lead her away as she sobbed. Merlin knew before Arthur had given the order that they were heading to the woman's village.

…

The ride had been hard, a full day. The day had seemed even longer since it was endured mostly in silence. The usual party of knights were with the princes, the ones they'd knighted at the round table. It seemed that today they were all imitating Percival; the only sound was horse hooves on the ground.

The village appeared after the sun went down; bodies were littering the streets, so still.

"It's too quiet" Arthur frowned as they dismounted and slowly made their way through the village, the bodies were icy as if they had drowned in a winters lake after falling through the ice. It was the middle of autumn, no snow to be heard of for months.

A terrible scream filled the air, Merlin felt his eyes nearly burst from his sockets as he caught a glimpse of what appeared to be living smoke fly around the corner.

"We're literally chasing shadows…" Gwaine mused, even the joker.

"Come on, let's split up to cover more ground." Arthur ordered, Merlin headed through several houses without glancing anything. He wasn't sure if that made him relieved or edgy. Relived that he appeared to be alone, or worried that he wasn't and was being watched.

"Leoht." He croaked, setting up a small fire in his palm, which shone for a moment before extinguishing. That was odd.

"Leoht." He ordered again, nothing happened. He'd been about to try again when the same screaming from before invaded his ears. He turned to see what appeared to be a mixture of smoke and bones flying toward him.

"Fleoh nu on moras!" He yelled, nothing happened he tried again. Still nothing. His magic was failing him!

"Merlin!"

Bright firelight invaded his vision as Arthur jumped out in front of his warding away the monster with his torch.

"What happened?" He asked looking worried

"My magic…I couldn't use it." Merlin gasped, he'd never felt so venerable.

The others ran to their side, the screaming was echoing around them now but none of the monsters showed its form.

"There's something out there." Merlin hushed

"You saw it?" Elyan asked

"We did, it fled when it saw the light." Arthur nodded

"It scared the horses" Gwaine admitted, "I don't think we can go after them."

"It's not something you can chase or kill" Merlin said with certainty, his Emrys side shining through in a brief show of wisdom.

"We need to leave." Percival suggested when another howl echoed down through the houses.

**Sorry for the slow reply I was on a school camp!**


	35. Chapter 35: The Darkest Hour III

"We've suffered fifty dead." Agravaine reported.

Arthur paced the room to try and work out his stress, Merlin stayed by Gaius's side, seemingly inspecting the floor.

"Maybe more, mostly in the lower town." Agravaine continued

"And there is no way of fighting them?" Arthur asked

"Our only weapons are torches and the light doesn't kill them, it only repels them." Agravaine answered sounding frustrated.

"What are they?" Merlin asked quietly

"The Dorocha sire," Gaius answered, "The spirits of the dead. On the eve of Samhain the priestesses of the Old Religion would perform a blood sacrifice and release them."

"But who would do such a thing now?" Agravaine argued

"Morgana." Merlin answered, all eyes turned to him.

"How do you know?" Arthur asked.

"Leon told me she was traveling to the Isle of the Blessed." He shrugged, "Morgause was raised by the High Priestess, it makes sense that she'd teach Morgana."

"How do we defeat these creatures?" Agravaine pipped up, almost too eager for Merlin to be out of the spotlight.

"I do not know." He admitted.

"No mortal has ever survived their touch." Gaius added.

...

The moon was high in the sky, but instead of pale white light, Camelot was dotted with bright red flames. Torches littered every dark corner possible, yet in the lower town there was still chaos. Most of the city was gathering in the brightly lit courtyard, the area was filled with enough fires to keep away the creatures but their screams still echoed through the too cold air.

Merlin and Arthur sat on the edge of the castle walls, leaning against the higher parts of the wall with their backs, facing one another with their legs ever so slightly tangled together. They each held a torch even though they had a fire burning brightly next to them. A particularly loud scream pierced the air making both the princes glance around nervously, Merlin felt himself tremble.

"You're not scared." He said finally.

"Oh I am Merlin," Arthur replied, "Maybe more than you."

"When my magic failed, last night..." Merlin looked to the sky as he spoke, "I...I didn't know what to do, I just froze. I've never felt so powerless."

"Neither have I." Arthur admitted much to Merlin's shock.

"What?"

"Merlin, what if I hadn't been holding the torch?" He muttered, "What if I'd decided to search the house on the other side of the road and hadn't gotten there in time? You'd be dead right now."

"But I'm not." Merlin pointed out.

"I lost you once, I wont let it happen again." Arthur said firmly, "Your magic is your greatest strength, I'm not letting you go after these creatures if your without it."

"And I'm not letting you go alone." Merlin glared, "You know that."

Arthur did. The elder prince reached into his pocket and drew out a small round piece of metal, a seal crested with a hawk of all things.

"This belonged to my mother," Arthur told him, "It's her sigil. Here."

He handed the seal to Merlin who ran his fingers over it.

"Arthur I can't-"

"Just, take it." Arthur smiled.

...

Gaius had obviously been up all night researching if the dark circles around his eyes were anything to go by.

"If I m right," He began, "And the veil between the worlds has been torn then there is only one path open to us."

"And that is?" Agravaine asked

"We travel to the Isle, and repair it." Gaius said flatly.

"How do I do that?" Arthur questioned.

"I do not know," Gaius admitted, "But to tear the veil required a blood sacrifice, to repair it, will require another."

An audible silence fell over the room for a few precious seconds.

"We'll ride before nightfall." Arthur said quietly.

"And who will be the sacrifice?" Merlin asked harshly, he knew what Arthur was planning.

"If laying down my life will spare the people of Camelot then that is what I must do." Arthur said, before turning and walking away.

...

Both princes were in their armor and chain mail, red cloaks donned their shoulders. They were ready to go, their horses were being saddled this second. Arthur was sitting in the chair across from their father, he was in a bad way today, just staring blankly out his window.

"There is so much we have to thank you for." Arthur said quietly, "You showed us so much."

"Like how to be a prince." Merlin smiled weakly.

"I hope," Arthur continued slowly, his voice cracking ever so slightly, "This time you will be proud of us."

Uther didn't speak, Merlin could see Arthur blinking back tears as he stood and placed a light kiss on their fathers forehead. They turned to leave by Uther's hand suddenly flew up and captured Arthur's arm.

"Don't leave me." He whispered

"I have to father." Arthur half spoke half sobbed.

"Please." Uther begged.

Gently, Merlin took Arthur's shoulders and lightly pulled him away. As they exited their uncle waved them off, Agravaine was wearing the ring that bore the seal of Camelot. He was going to run the kingdom while they were gone, it gave Merlin even more incentive to keep Arthur alive. There was something about Agravaine he didn't trust and the last thing he wanted was him to be king.

...

They rode all day until the sun began to set, knowing that soon they would need to find shelter and start a fire if they were to live through the night. The round table knights were with them of course, Lancelot was sticking unusually close to Merlin. The younger prince sighed.

"My brothers ordered you to keep me safe hasn't he?" He said finally, Lancelot nodded.

...

Merlin decided to spite him by collecting firewood as far away from his new body guard as possible. It didn't work. Soon they were all huddled in he ruins of a long destroyed castle around a fire pit that was slowly dying. Gwaine picked up a thick log, spinning it in the air before dropping it in.

"Last log, who wants to go get some more?"

"I'll go." Arthur announced

"I'll go too." Merlin added, Arthur gave him a look, "Well since when do you know how to collect firewood?"

The group chuckled as the two princes wandered off with their torch to gather more wood. Luckily it didn't take too long to find a small area scattered with wood, probably the remains of a smashed cart of some barrels. Arthur held the torch while Merlin gathered the wood in his arms, they almost had enough to head back when a scream filled the air.

"Merlin look out!" Arthur cried knocking him to the ground. The dorocha passed dangerously close to them. Grabbing his brother they bottled through the halls of part of the castles base. Their torch had gone out they had no choice but to hide inside what appeared to be a cellar.

They huddled together in the corner of the small room, Arthur could feel himself trembling, his body was betraying him.

"Are you alright?" Merlin whispered.

"It's cold." Arthur half lied, it was cold, but that wasn't the reason for his shaking.

"Right." Merlin nodded, he was still.

"You know you're a lot braver than people give you credit for." Arthur joked trying to cut out the sound of the screams coming closer to their hiding place.

"Was that a compliment?" Merlin grinned

"Don't be stupid." Arthur laughed. Another cry echoed through the halls making both brothers jump.

"Don't worry, the others will be here soon. They'll go looking for us." Merlin insisted, "Then we'll defeat the dorocha together."

"I'll appreciate that." Arthur smiled and for a moment, everything was okay.

Then the dorocha cries became louder, it was coming closer!

"They say the darkest hour is just before the dawn." Arthur muttered

"It's pretty dark right now..." Merlin added

"Can't be long then!" Arthur replied quickly

They looked toward the door, the white mist of the monster was soaking through, then it's face and i rushed for them. Arthur went to stand and fight but something grabbed his shoulder, throwing him back down against the ground. Merlin was on his feet, running forwards to meet the dorocha.

"Brother no!" Arthur cried, frozen in horror and Merlin leapt straight through the ghostly body of the creature and was flung backwards, slamming into the stone wall before slumping down onto the ground, his back facing Arthur.

At that moment the knights arrived, torch in hand as they burst through the door. The creature was repelled almost instantly and the cries faded to silence.

"What happened?" Lancelot asked hurriedly, Arthur didn't answer.

Instead he rushed to his brothers side, gathering him up in his arms flipping him onto his back. Just like he had mere weeks ago when he'd found him asleep in his crystal coffin. His face was pale and coated with frost, his eyes were wide and staring, mouth slightly agape.

_No..._

**_NO!_**

**I'm doing my best to make sure this story become popular again :) I can't expect many reviews after my hiatus so I'm doing my best to catch up. **


	36. Chapter 36: The Darkest Hour IV

He'd only just gotten Merlin back, he couldn't die now! But he had, he'd died right in front of Arthur's eyes and it had only taken a few seconds. The prince let out a sound somewhere between a gasp and a sob while the knights looked at their feet in silent mourning. Arthur pulled Merlin to his chest and squeezed his eyes shut to stop the tears from leaking through.

"Arthur…can't…breath…"

He lowered Merlin again, shocked to see him blinking slowly, the light in his eyes was still there, dully, but he was alive.

"Merlin!" He cried, "You're alive!"

"But how-?" Leon started only to be interrupted by Lancelot.

"Who cares? Let's get him covered up now!" He yelled the others nodded.

They made their way back to the fire pit, gathering wood on the way and setting up a huge blaze. The ice melted from Merlin's face but he remained pale, silent and limp. He didn't even have the strength to lift his head, he may have survived, but he was skating on the edge of death and it wouldn't take much to push him over.

The night was spent making sure the prince was warm and as comfortable as possible against the side of the warm stones of the fire pit. No matter what they did his skin still felt like ice to the touch.

"We have to get him back to Gaius." Arthur announced as the sun began to rise.

"And abandon the quest?" Leon questioned

"He saved my life I won't let him die." Arthur replied fiercely.

"If we don't get to the Isle of the Blessed hundreds more will perish." Elyan pointed out.

"Let me take him." Lancelot spoke up.

"On your own, carrying a wounded man," Arthur shook his head, "It'll take you two, three days to reach Camelot."

"Not if we go through the Valley of the Fallen kings," Lancelot argued, "You can't give up on the quest."

"Sire, he's right." Leon nodded, Arthur sighed, he had no choice.

Gently Percival picked up Merlin and carried him to the lowest horse they had. Merlin had no choice but to slump over the horse's neck, Lancelot would have to lead it from his own. The others left Arthur to tie Merlin down so he wouldn't fall off, giving the brothers some time in private.

"This is my fault," Arthur said quietly, "And I'm sorry. You're my little brother, I'm the one who's supposed to look after you, not the other way around."

"Take me with you, please." Merlin rasped

"You'll die Merlin."

"You don't understand, please Arthur." Merlin begged pathetically

"Don't you ever do as you're told?" Arthur joked darkly

"I have to come with you!" Merlin insisted

"Merlin!" His brother scolded

"I'm dying anyway-"

"Shut up!" Arthur seethed, "You'll be fine."

"We need to leave." Lancelot announced.

Arthur gave Merlin's shoulder a squeeze before Lancelot called his horse and the pair left the group to their travel. Arthur watched them until they disappeared.

…

They rode for most of the day, only stopping to rest once. Percival and Elyan sat back to watch as Gwaine angered a hive of bees and ran around the forest trying to be rid of them. Another day, Arthur might of laughed but for now he couldn't even bring himself to be the slightest bit happy. He was riding to certain death and Merlin was hanging by a thread. No matter what happened, the odds were against him ever laying eyes on his brother again.

"You're quiet." Leon greeted softly

"That's what happens after days of listening to Gwaine." Arthur jibed but his heart wasn't in it.

"You made the right choice," Leon insisted, "Merlin couldn't of continued with us."

"I should've saved him." Arthur replied bitterly

"If anybody can get Merlin to Camelot, it's Lancelot." Leon said with finality. He was sure. That gave Arthur a small amount of hope.

...

Lancelot looked back at the prince, he was barely sitting up, still mostly slumped over the horses neck. He knew that he desperately needed to rest, but was too proud to say so. His theory was proved minutes later when he stopped his horse and went over to the prince and carried him over to a stream to rest, he was unconscious within seconds. The knight desperately wished for some blankets, he made do with his cape as a covering.

"Lancelot~"

"Lancelot~"

The voice echoed through the air, calling to him. He gaped as the water seemed to drip backwards, droplets falling up and floating around his face. His jaw almost fell off when a womans face appeared in the droplets.

"Be calm, we bare you no harm." The droplet smiled, "We are Villia."

"Magic..."

"Yes, we are spirits of magic, much like the dorocha, however while they take life, we restore it." She explained, "We wish only to help."

"My friend, he's sick," Lancelot explained, "I need to get him to Cameot."

"Merlin is stronger than you give him credit for," The Villia sighed, "DO not worry, even now my sisters begin to heal him."

The knight felt a smile form on his lips as he looked at the prince who was glowing with an ethereal light. He somehow knew this magic wasn't meant to harm, he'd always considered himself neutral with the idea. This was proof that not all magic was evil.

"You are tired, rest here." THe Villia invited, "We will protect you through the night."

His smile grew as a white light enveloped the both of them, this would keep the dorocha away.

...

He slept deeply through the night and he woke slowly, he blinked open his eyes and they fell upon his cloak. His cloak that was supposed to be over the dying prince but was now empty.

"Merlin," He gaped, "Merlin!"

"Shh!"

He turned to the source of the voice to see Merlin poised on a rock in the river, spear in hand, catching fish.

"Breakfast?" He asked holding up the two silver fish

"Merlin you're meant to be...dying." Lancelot said finally.

"Sorry." Merlin apologised, handing Lancelot the stick, "Here."

"What's this for?" He asked

"You look like you're about to fall over." Merlin grinned, Lancelot swung the stick at his head, Merlin dodged.

"Yeah, not as quick as Arthur." He sighed

"Oh yeah?"

"Come on, we need to catch up to the others!" The prince announced as he headed for the horses

"Oh no, You're going back to Camelot!" Lancelot countered

"Maybe you are."

"Merlin."

"Say hello to Gaius for me!"

"Merlin!"

"Arthur can;t finish this without us." Merlin said, turning to face Lancelot.

"He's right, you never do as you're told" Lancelot sighed

"Nope!"

...

Arthur dipped his hands into the water to wash his face, they's cut a day off their journey by heading through the tunnels that lead under the mountain. Unfortunately that meant covering themselves in gia berries. The Wildren, large rat like monsters that lived within the caves, hunted by scent and the berries masked their scent well.

"We need to rest," Leon breathed, "Even Gwaine's gone quiet."

"Sounds like a good reason to keep going." Arthur insisted

**WOW this episode is taking a long time to type up, just a heads up I am in my final year and I'm swamped with Homework and study so my updates WILL be a tad slower during the week as apposed to the weekend when I have more time. **

**Sorry for skipping the tunnels but it didn't seem all that important**


	37. Chapter 37: The Darkest Hour V

The hut was small but homely, at least it would be were it not for all the dead animals hanging from the ceiling. Night was approaching and Merlin and Lancelot needed a place to spend the night, the Villia had disappeared and they needed a fire.

"Hello?" Lancelot called

Nobody answered him, the small huts only occupant was a hunter, dead sitting at his workbench, face frosted over.

"Dorocha." Merlin sighed, "We can't stay here."

"There's nowhere else Sire," Lancelot pointed out, "We'll make a fire, there is enough wood to put us through the night."

"Yep." Merlin agreed waiting until Lancelot's back was turned, "Bel onbyne!"

A fire roared to life in the hearth, much to the knight's surprise.

"How did you-?"

"I was a peasant, remember?" Merlin prompted, "I'm not completely useless."

…

The knights settled round their campfire, Arthur stood keeping watch. He wondered if Merlin was back in Camelot now.

"See anything?" Elyan asked, Arthur shook his head.

"Do you know what awaits us on the Isle?" He questioned nervously. Arthur nodded.

"Do you want to tell me?" The knight prodded.

"The burden is mine to bear alone." Arthur answered

"Look around Arthur," Elyan waved his hand over to the campfire, "We would fight a thousand armies with our bare hands for you. We're never alone. We stand together!"

"Thank you." Arthur smiled, he was grateful to Elyan but he'd be lying if he said he didn't wish it was his brother saying those things instead.

…

A cold feeling made it's way into Merlin's bones, his eyes snapped open, he knew that feeling. He was sensing a dorocha, it was near. Suddenly he became aware of the dark, the fire had gone out. He barely had time to yell before the monster charged out of nowhere.

"Lancelot!"

In an act of fear he threw the bottle of mead that had been sitting by him onto the coals. The alcohol ignited and flames roared upwards, the two fled. He had no choice, he needed a source of fire.

"Ωδρακον, έάω μαλερός σοφόνους φθέγγομαι τείδε άναδικέω!"

He could feel Lancelot's eyes on him as he roared in the dragon tongue but that wasn't important. The dorocha was following them, just as he was sure he was going to die a roar killed the air and suddenly flames burst forth, and the dorocha was gone. Lancelot drew his sword as the great dragon landed heavily upon the grass but Merlin held out his hands.

"It's alright!" He insisted, "It's alright!"

Lancelot made a face as Merlin turned to the dragon.

"Thank you." He nodded

"Who is your friend?" Kilgharrah asked

"I'm Lancelot." Lancelot replied nervously

"Of course, Sir Lancelot," KIlgharrah smiled, "The most nobel of them all."

"I'm not sure if that's true." The knight blushed obviously both flattered and uncomfortable.

"We shall see, but for now there are more pressing things art hand." The dragon nodded, "The Dorocha cannot be allowed to remain in this world. The sundered veil must be restored."

"Arthur is going to heal it." Merlin said with finality, "But the spirit world demands a sacrifice…

"It demands nothing!" The dragon growled, "It is the Cailleach, the gatekeeper to the spirit world who asks such a price."

"There is no way around it?" Lancelot questioned, the dragon shook his head.

"Arthur intends to sacrifice himself to heal the veil…" Merlin continued, "I must take his place."

"Merlin, you must not do this." The dragon shook his head slowly.

"It's my destiny to protect him." Merlin said with finality.

"From the moment I met you, I saw something that was invisible. Now it is there for all to see." The dragon spoke proudly

"A lot of what you see, old friend, is what you taught me." Merlin grinned, it was true, was it really so long ago he was a peasant? Pressing his ear to the floor in the dungeons trying to hear the deep voice echoing from beneath?

"It will be an empty world without you, young warlock."

…

Kilgharrah had stayed with them through the night, keeping the dorocha far from them. Lancelot was a tad apprehensive about sleeping next to a giant fire-breathing lizard but soon settled. Merlin had to give him credit; he was brave to trust him.

He explained that in a way Kilghrarrah was sort of 'his' dragon. Due to his father being a dragon lord. After that the knight seemed to relax more.

Now they were riding again, a full day and they were tired, they needed to reach to fortress in this area to stay safe for the night. When it came into view there was smoke rising from one of the chimneys.

"Bandits?" Lancelot asked

"Let's find out."

…

"Pick on Percival!" Gwaine taunted, waving his dirty socks in their faces.

"Why me?" Percival asked

"Yeah, at least he washes." Elyan laughed

"And he doesn't set fire to his socks." Leon jibbed.

"Ack! No!" Gwaine cried, pulling his know alight socks from the fire and bashing them against the dirty floor while the others laughed. Arthur even joined in, he had to enjoy the time he had left. Suddenly he heard the clicking of a door.

"Quiet!" He hissed.

Silence fell over the room, another sound. Footsteps. Slowly the knights gathered their swords standing ready to leap into battle if they had to. The silhouette of a man came into their sights, their swords lowered.

"Lancelot?" Arthur questioned as the man stepped into the light, "How's Merlin?"

Lancelot looked grave. Please no…

"Bad news." He sighed

Black spots danced over Arthur's vision. Do not faint. Do not faint…

"He's still alive!"

The spots disappeared from his vision almost immediately. There, standing in front of him was a perfectly healthy, Merlin. Grinning that stupid grin.

"Merlin!" Gwaine cried embracing him.

Arthur stepped forward and squeezed his brother's shoulder.

"What sort of time do you call this?" He jibed

…

The two brothers were lounging by the fire while the knight slept, Merlin was running his fingers over the sigil Arthur had given him a few days ago. It seemed like a lifetime.

"Everything will be alright." The younger brother said finally.

"I'm just tired." Arthur lied.

"You don't have to sacrifice yourself." Merlin insisted.

"To save my people I do." Arthur argued.

"I'll take your place." Merlin said after a few seconds of silence.

"Merlin…" Arthur scolded shaking his head.

"What is the life of me compared to that of the future king?" Merlin said seriously.

"You are important." Arthur hissed, "Don't forget that. Just…make sure Gwen is happy, she deserves that much."

"I will." Merlin nodded, "I promise."

**Sorry for the slow updates! My god I've got so much homework.**

**Argh! *Is squashed by pile of papers***


	38. Chapter 38: The Darkest Hour VI

The group stood at the top of a small hill, which rolled down to meet the waters of a lake, containing an island. It seemed like an eerie place, the fog half covered the water making the Isle almost invisible.

"The Isle of the Blessed." Arthur said finally, breaking the silence

Merlin spoke quietly to the bridge keeper while Arthur stayed with the knights, after a few moments the young prince waved them over and into the long boat. The knight's eyes widened as the boat began to move all by itself,the princes just glanced at one another, knowingly. A screech echoed through the air, unlike the cries of the dorocha Merlin felt a slight pull in his chest.

"What's that?" Leon asked

"I really hope I'm wrong..." Merlin muttered as a wyvern dove out of the sky. Wyverns were dragons, that explained the pull, hopefully that meant he could speak to them. Percival was knocked over as another wyvern joined it's friend, he had no choice.

"s'enthend' apakhorein nun epello!" He hissed under his breath, nobody noticed over the wyverns and swords clashing.

"See?" Gwaine stated proudly, "That's how you deal with them, you frighten them off with a display of superiority!"

"We need to keep moving." Arthur interrupted.

They made their way through the twisting corridors more wyverns swooped over them causing the group to duck.

"Sires! You must go on!" Leon yelled, "We'll fend them off."

"Gwaine and I will go with them!" Lancelot yelled giving the other knights a nod as he ran after Merlin and Arthur.

"Good luck!" Gwaine called to the remaining knights as he joined them.

...

The alter stood in the middle of the courtyard, after the fight with the wyverns the area was scarily quiet. The most unnerving part however, was the large black rippling tear that floated in the air, the veil. The horrible woman Merlin had seen appear before him was there, in her dark cloak and staff grasped between her pale fingers.

"It's not often we have visitors." She grinned

"Put an end to this." Arthur ordered, "I demand that you mend the veil between the worlds."

"It was not I who who created this horror," She drawled sounding bored, "Why should it be I who stops it?"

"Because innocent people are dying!" Merlin exclaimed.

"Indeed." The Cailleach laughed.

Gwaine's face twisted with rage and he charged, sword raised. Merlin tried to call out to warn him but it was too late, the calleach threw him back with a wave of her hand. The magic threw the knight backwards, knocking him out as he slammed against the hard floor.

"Is that the best you can do?" She laughed

"I know what you want." Arthur said seriously.

"And are you willing to let me have it?" She asked curiously

"I'm prepared to pay whatever is necessary." Arthur replied

The Cailleach waved him over, determinedly over to her to her, no fear on his face.

"I'm sorry," Merlin whispered, "Forb Fleoghe."

The world seemed to slow down as Arthur fell backwards, his eyes locking with Merlin's for a second. They were filled with fear and anger, his brother knew what Merlin was going to do. Arthur stilled as he hit the ground, Merlin could feel Lancelot's eyes on him.

"I understand." He said quietly.

"So, Emrys, you choose to challenge me after all" The Cailleach interrupted, "Will you give yourself to the spirits to save your brother?"

"It is my destiny." Merlin replied, he would always protect his brother. He made his way to the alter, face strong and not betraying the worry he felt.

Arthur would always go first.

"Perhaps. But your time among men is not yet over, Emrys, even if you want it to be." She replied mysteriously.

"What?" He gaped, suddenly he realized her eyes were not on him, but on something behind him near the veil.

He spun around to see Lancelot facing the veil, he turned and smiled at him.

"No!" Merlin cried shaking his head.

Lancelot continued his sad smile and before the prince could do anything, he turned, opened his arms and walked straight into the veil. Shadows enveloping him completely.

"No! NO!" Merlin cried, he couldn't stop himself.

The veil twisted and shimmered before sealing up, leaving Merlin standing in the empty courtyard. The Cailleach had gone too. The prince was left standing with his unconscious brother and friend, gaping at the place where Lancelot had been standing.

"N-no..." He breathed, horrified.

He felt himself sink to his knees after an unknown amount of time. It was all his fault, once again he'd failed somebody and they'd paid the price. The faces of Morgana and his father flashed through his mind, this was even worse. Lancelot was the most loyal, kind and selfless person he'd ever known.

And he'd died for him. To keep his promise to Arthur about keeping him safe.

It was all. His. Fault.

He felt the tears sting his eyes as he fell forwards onto his palms. He was so busy being distraught he didn't hear Arthur moan as he came to.

"Merlin!" He cried.

Merlin barely felt Arthur gripping his shoulders as he fell to his knees in front of him, the warlock didn't even look up.

"Merlin! Merlin are you alright?" Arthur asked hurriedly, "Please tell me you're not hurt!"

He opened his mouth to tell him he was fine but all that came out was a strangled sob. Arthur's grip intensified. The tears began to fall as Merlin looked up at his brother finally, he must of looked such a mess.

"L-lance-Lancelot." He choked out, "He-he..."

The prince couldn't get anymore out. He collapsed onto Arthur's shoulder.

And sobbed.

...

Later, Merlin would remember the trip back to Camelot as a pain filled blur. Time seemed to go so fast, yet agonizingly slow at the same time. Lancelot's funeral was well attended, Gwen sobbed. Merlin watched on in silent mourning, he used up all his tears on the Isle.

Arthur would be lying if he said he wasn't saddened by Lancelot's death, it hurt him deeply. Lancelot had been loyal and then most nobel knight he'd ever know. But, deep down he thanked the man.

Because it was him who died.

Not Merlin.

**I'm not sure but I am going to switch up a few things, for one I'm not going to do "The Wicked Day" just yet. I think I will do it later on, but it will happen. As a result some of the episodes might be out of order slightly. **


	39. Chapter 39: The Brothers Laugh

It would take a blind man not to notice the sombre mood that had descended upon the Pendragon brothers. Both of them showed signs of sleep deprivation, Merlin spoke less and less and Arthur seemed to be constantly jittery, unable to sit still for more than a few seconds.

Arthur tried to make himself calm but he seemed to be in a constant state of worry. Sometimes he would have nightmares about their trip to the Isle, except when he woke Merlin was dead. His ghost floated in front of the older prince berating him for his own weakness.

_"Why didn't you protect me Arthur?" _

_"Why can't you take care of yourself? It's always me who gets hurt!"_

When he woke from those dreams he was filled with doubt, once or twice he'd secretly travelled to Merlin's room to check on him. Just to make sure he really was still breathing. When he'd given his brother the seal that had belonged to his mother he'd had various reasons. Firstly he wanted something to give Merlin in exchange for the stone bear, which lived around his neck permanently. Another, slightly softer side of him hoped that it would mean his mothers spirit would look out for him. He'd never known his mother, save the illusion conjured by Morgause, but he'd been told by many people she was kind and loving. He hoped that somewhere she was watching him and Merlin both.

He could tell Merlin was being buried by his guilt over Lancelot's death. Nobody blamed him but himself of course. All the knights had been sincere, they were not angry but Merlin continued to feel inadequate. Like he was a failure.

Arthur had never felt so frighted when he'd first woken up on the Isle of the Blessed and seen Merlin curled over himself. He'd also never seen Merlin cry so much, it was the uncontrollable sort of sobbing that meant he couldn't stop even if he wanted to. Once again the future king felt helpless to help his brother through the pain.

…

Arthur's eyes flew open just in time to meet the stone that made up his floor before he slammed into it. He'd had another nightmare and ended up falling out of bed apparently, that was embarrassing. Pulling on a shirt he made his way over to Merlin's room, he knew he wouldn't be able to calm himself until he did. He was the future king dammit! How could he be so fearful?

"Merlin?" Arthur called as he entered the room.

His brother was sitting on the fur rug by his fire, staring at it.

"Evening." He muttered.

His face crinkled with concern when he laid eyes on Arthur.

"You've not been sleeping." He noted, Arthur nodded.

"Now I know how annoying it is to suffer from nightmares." He joked darkly sitting on the floor by Merlin. What would the people say if they could see him? A future king, sitting on the floor like a child.

"It's not like you can talk, I know you haven't ben to bed for two days." Arthur continued.

"I know." Merlin sighed, "I'm tired, I just don't fall asleep."

"We're a pair huh?" Arthur elbowed him, Merlin smiled slightly.

"Two sides, same coin." Merlin quipped.

"Don't you go all dragon on me!" Arthur exclaimed, "Wise Merlin is a pain, he is such a know it all!"

"Well, you got the brawn," Merlin joked, "One of us has to have the brains-"

He got cut off then when Arthur grappled with him until he was in a headlock, rubbing his fist into the top of his brother's hair.

"Ah! No Arthur quit it!" Merlin complained.

"You give up?" Arthur dared, stopping his torture momentarily.

"Never!" Merlin grinned, taking his chance and slipping out of Arthur's grip and smacking him in the face with a near by cushion.

Dazed for a few seconds Arthur quickly fought back, grabbing the cylindrical pillow from Merlin's bed and swinging it like a mace. He landed a few good hits before all the other pillows in the room seemed to think it was unfair and floated up into the air and began to pelt the older prince.

"Merlin! That's cheating!" Arthur cried through giggles.

"Is not!"

Arthur made a grab for the warlock but ended up tripping and pulling himself down along with Merlin. Both princes fell into a heap on the rug, laughing manically. It had been so long since they'd done anything so silly, or so fun. Arthur couldn't even remember the last time he'd had a pillow fight, he must have been very young. Yet here he was, a fully grown man, beating his brother with cushions while feathers flew everywhere.

"We must never speak of this." Merlin grinned, "Gwaine would have a field day."

"Anybody would have a field day with this." Arthur replied, "I feel sorry for your servant, he's got to clean up all these feathers."

"I'll help him…tomorrow." Merlin yawned.

"Come on, oh mighty Emrys," Arthur poked him in the side, "Time for bed."

They hauled themselves onto their feet and Merlin promptly collapsed under his blankets, seemingly not caring that he had no pillow. Arthur, yawning as well made his way back to his room just in time to reach his own bed before falling into a deep restful sleep.

Neither of them dreamed.

Who knew pillow fights were such a good way to get rid of nightmares?

**I told myself I wouldn't but I started yet another Sherlock story! Agh! Don't worry this story wont stop though. **

**I'm trying to figure out what episodes to do from season 4, suggestions? **

**Reviews = Inspiration and faster updates :P**


	40. Chapter 40: Aithusa I

It had been a long time since Merlin had slept in his old room in Gaius's chambers. He'd been sparing with Sir Leon and gotten distracted with thoughts of his latest letter to Elena and tripped, banging his head on a shield. Gaius insisted he stay the night due to the concussion, just to be safe. Merlin didn't mind.

Though his sleep addled brain voice began to invade.

"Hello Gaius, surely you remember me."

"Only too well." Came Gaius's voice

Slowly Merlin stood, being careful not to move his head too suddenly, he could just see Gaius and another man through a crack in the old door.

"You have nerve coming back here." Gaius said darkly to the man, who Merlin just noticed was soaking wet, "You left me in a lot of trouble."  
>"Yeah, yeah sorry about that." The man replied, "What can I say? Execution, really didn't appeal to me."<p>

"Don't pretend you support Uther." The man growled, Merlin felt a rise of anger at the insult.

"Tell me why you're here." Gaius ordered.

The strange man held out something half wrapped in a cloth, Merlin couldn't tell what it was, only that it shone and was made of gold. Gaius seemed very surprised to see it.

"Save your eyesight Gaius," The man heeded, "It's the Triskelion of Ashkanar."

"You're sure?" Gaius questioned

"I'm certain."

"Let me see"

The physician took the item and examined it with his looking glass.

"It's in the druid tongue, the runes are in threes that's rare." Gaius noted

"I can save you the trouble, they guide the barer to the tomb of Ashkanar." The stranger explained, "We both know the legend, what he hid there..."

"A dragon's egg."

Merlin's heart soared. If that were true perhaps Kilgharrah was not the last of his kind! The idea of meeting another dragon made the dragonlords heart skip a beat, he had to find this egg. If it existed.

"And, you've come to steal it." Gaius sighed, Merlin's heart skipped another beat.

"Well-"

"You're missing a part of it anyway." Gaius continued.

"Oh I know where it is." The man grinned, "In the vaults, below your feet."

"And you want me to help you?"

"We could bring the nobel creature back to life!"

"I want no part in this!"

Merlin watched, confused as the men fought. Why wouldn't Gaius help the dragons? The men argued for some time until the man left, telling Gaius to find him at the inn should he need. The door was barely closed when Merlin revealed himself.

"Who was that?" He asked

"Nobody-"

"Gaius..."

"He was a pupil of mine." Gaius admitted, "His name is Julius Borden."

"Why wont you help him?" Merlin asked, "This is our one chance of saving the dragons!"

"Borden is not a man to be trusted." Gaius said with finality

"You don't believe the triskelion is real?" The prince questioned

"Of that I have no doubt." Gaius rebutted

"Then what?"

"His motives sire." Gaius continued, "Even as a young man he was prone to dishonesty, who knows what path he is on now."

"You want the egg to remain lost?"

"I don't want it in Borden's hands!" Gaius exclaimed.

It was times like this that made Merlin feel distant from the old man. He knew Gaius loved him and he in return loved Gaius, but he was too safe. He wasn't willing to take necessary risks.

"The tomb of Ashkanar has remained un touched for over four hundred years!" Gaius continued, "It is my belief that it should stay that way!"

"But-"

"Sire, you should be resting anyway. The last thing you want is a headache."

...

"I never dared to dream of such a thing Merlin." Kilgharrah said awed.

The prince had snuck out of the physicians chambers as soon as the old man had fallen asleep, he simply had to tell somebody who understood.

"So the legend is true? There is an egg?" Merlin asked

"This a chance in a thousand Merlin! The legend is true, you must retrieve the egg."

...

Merlin wandered down the streets in the early morning, making sure to keep his face covered with his cloak. The last thing he wanted was to make a scene. Slipping past the inn keeper of The Rising Sun was easy enough, now he just had to find Borden's room. According to the script kept by the desk he should of been in the third room. The prince creaked open the room and saw a shape on the bed, he must of been asleep. He was about to wake the man when he felt something throw him against the now closed door and the icy coldness of metal against his throat.

"What do you want?" Sneered Borden

"I want to help you get the dragon egg." Merlin answered nervously, "I'm a friend of Gaius."

"Did he send you?" Borden asked

"No but I know everything about dragons!" Merlin insisted

"Get out." The older man grumbled releasing the prince

"But-"

"Get. Out"

"I can help you get the third piece of the Triskellion!" Merlin insisted desperately

"How can a boy like you help me?" Bored questioned. Merlin held himself a little higher.

"Because I'm Prince Merlin and my brother has the key to the vaults."

...

Arthur was just finished dressing when he heard the doors to his chambers slam open, he didn't need to look out from behind the screen to know who it was. Only one person would rush in here like that.

"Merlin what-"

"Arthur!" Merlin beamed, "I need the keys to the vaults!"

"Why?" Arthur asked

"Because the third part of the Triskellion in down there!" Merlin rolled his eyes as if it should be obvious.

"Oh yes how could I possibly not know that?" Arthur answered sarcastically.

"Arthur, there is a dragon egg!" Merlin was practically dancing over his room with excitement as he explained what was going on.

"Please, I need the keys so I can get the third part of the Triskellion!" Merlin pleaded, "I'll go with Borden in secret, just say I've gone to improve my hunting skills or something, that way nobody will know about the egg."

Arthur ruffled Merlin's hair teasingly.

"Alright, who am I to deny a dragonlord about anything to do with the beasts?" He laughed throwing the key to his brother, "Just be careful!"

"Thank you Arthur!"

**I found this chapter really difficult to write because I didn't want to repeat every line of dialogue cause that would be boring for those who have seen the show. Plus things will play out very differently with Arthur knowing about Merlin's magic and the fact that he is a prince. **


	41. Chapter 41: Aithusa II

Merlin couldn't help but grin when he saw Borden waiting for him by the gate to the vaults on the outer wall. He held up the key happily.

"I took it from my brother." He lied, "I can't have the future king know I'm going after a dragon."

"I'm beginning to like you Merlin." Borden smiled as Merlin unlocked the door.

Quietly they made their way through the tunnels, Merlin dismissed the guards as they went, saying Borden was a scholar who'd come to review some ancient documents for authenticity. It was a clever lie really, though the guards seemed to doubt it somewhat when they took in Borden's appearance. None the less they left, they couldn't disobey their prince.

Once they were inside Borden took the lead and lead the prince to a box, lifting the lid and gingerly lifting a piece of swirling gold metal complete with the runes adorning the others parts of the device.

Gingerly he lifted it and placed it with the other pieces, Merlin smiled in wonder as they connected together with a flash of gold light, not even a crack was there to show the pieces had ever been separate.

"Tell me Merlin, are you a good liar?" Borden asked.

"When I need to me." Merlin replied truthfully.

Suddenly there was a pain in the back of his head and Merlin felt himself fall to the ground. Borden must of hit him with something, vaguely he could hear the mans voice echoing through his head as something small hit his face.

"You'll need to be."

…

Merlin groaned as he came to, he really had to stop being knocked out it was getting ridiculous. He blinked at the soft light filtering through the doorway he was laying in. Slowly he sat up, the key he'd used to open the vaults was sitting next to him, well that explained what hit his cheek when Borden left.

Borden!

That snake, he'd tricked the prince into helping him! Now he was going to take that egg and use it for his own selfish purposes! The dragonlord let out a frustrated snarl, glad nobody was around to hear the strange sound. He had to find Arthur.

…

"Merlin! I wasn't expecting you to be back yet." Arthur smiled, the grin faded when he saw the desperate look in his brothers eyes.

"Borden, he tricked me, he took the Triskelion and now he's going to take the egg!" Merlin exclaimed, "We have to catch him Arthur!"

"I told you to be careful." Arthur sighed, "What are we going to do Merlin? We can't just announce we are going to save a dragon!"

"But, we have to!" Merlin argued, "I promised Kilgharrah!"

"What do you want me to do?" Arthur asked.

"You are regent now you could get some of the knights to come with us, the round table knights." Merlin told him, "Please Arthur."

"If I tell them the truth they will think we've gone the same way as Morgana!"

"Then…we lie." Merlin nodded, "We tell them we are going to destroy them egg, not save it. Then you can distract them and I'll sneak the egg away."

"Merlin-"

"Please, brother!" Merlin begged. Arthur bit his lip.

"Alright..."

...

Arthur gathered the knights, their usual group of Gwaine, Percival, Elyan and Leon and quickly explained the 'situation'. Borden had some how stolen the key and taken the Triskelion and was now on his way to get the dragon egg. They needed to beat him to it in order to destroy it. Merlin was focused and determined the entire time; for once he was the better tracker.

"Smoke!" He called, "He's made camp!"

The young prince bit his lip when he saw the fire was old, still warm though. They were only a few hours behind him. They rode on a little further until Arthur stopped to inspect the tracks down a leafy hill.

"Deer tracks," He sighed

"Did we loose him?" Leon asked.

"It's getting too dark to see, we'd better make camp." Arthur ordered

"But we're so close to him." Merlin insisted

"We can't see in the dark Merlin." Arthur reminded him, "We'll find somewhere to spend the night."

The warlock didn't feel safe that night, though they joked around the fire and enjoyed some of Merlin's old servant style cooking he couldn't enjoy himself. He felt as if he was being watched, he swore he saw something out of the corner of his eye when he volunteered to feed the horses.

He noticed Arthur placed his sleeping mat a fraction closer to his than usual; his brother was worried about him going off in the night. It hadn't crossed Merlin's mind but now that he thought about it, Arthur was right to worry.

…

He was woken in the night by a whispering...

Emrys...

Emrys...

Emrys...

The voice didn't let up so quietly, as to not wake Arthur, he then made his way through the forest after the call.

"Where are you?" He asked quietly, the wind was his only reply, save the constant calling of his druid name. Finally after a few minutes of solitary walking he spotted them, a small group of druids.

"Do not be afraid." Said it's leader, "We know your quest."

"How?" He asked

"The man you seek also stole from us." The druid replied, "He passed through these woods three hours before you."

"Which way did he go?" Merlin asked hurriedly.

"To the East, but you must beware Emrys. The legends tell a tale that only the druids know." The leader warned.

"What do they say?"

"That Ashkinar was a wise man, he knew men would come looking to disturb his tomb." The elderly man continued, "The Triskelion is not just a key, it is also a trap."

"What kind of trap?" Merlin felt worry for his friends chill his bones.

"I do not know but you must beware Emrys." He whispered.

Merlin looked to the other druids for input they all remained silent in the moonlight. Feeling frustrated he went to walk away but stopped when the lead druid spoke again.

"One more thing Emrys, the legends say 'only when the way ahead seems impossible will you of found it'"

Trust the druids to speak in riddles.

**I actually finished writing this yesterday but forgot to upload it, whoops. **

**Sorry it's a tad short but this is where I figured it was best to stop it, I'm finding this episode rather boring so far really. **


	42. Chapter 42:Aithusa III

The light filtered through the trees in tiny streams, here the forest was dense, easy for Borden to hide in. Merlin wished these were the light airy forests he and Elena had ridden through over a year ago. The knights stumbled upon yet another old fire, this one was stone cold.

"He must of left in the night." Arthur announced.

"No horse tracks either." Gwaine sighed.

"He's covered them." Confirmed Leon.

Merlin threw his hands out in frustration, "We had him! We were so close!"

The angry warlock checked the sun and headed off.

"Where are you going?" Arthur asked, "We don't even know where he went."

"He's heading east." Merlin informed him

"How do you know that?" Arthur questioned, Merlin left his eyes skip over the knights.

"Because I can sense it." He replied.

Arthur gave a small nod of understanding. By 'sense' he meant 'magical things I can't say in front of knights'.

"Alright, I trust you." Arthur sighed, "Let's go."

They walked for a few hours before the forest opened up and they began walking along a rocky creek bed that had dried up. Merlin felt like cursing the druids when the creek bed ending in a low cave.

"It's a dead end." Arthur sighed, "We'll have to go back."

"What about the cave?" Merlin offered

"We're wasting our time brother." Arthur insisted as he turned to leave.

"Wait, sire!" Percival called from his spot by the water, "Look."

The knight was pointing at a large sunken footprint in the mud. Merlin grinned, Borden was close! The cave was dark, they entered with swords drawn.

"Merlin this is ridiculous, where is he headed?" Arthur hissed in the darkness.

"There's light ahead." Merlin replied, "The druids told me to go this way."

"Druids?"

"I'll tell you later..."

Surprisingly the cave was not deep and soon the roar of a waterfall was echoing through the stone walls. It did not take the group long to locate it, Arthur went first, tentatively placing his hand through the spray to make sure it was safe. On the other side was a forest just the same as before, only now marginally colder due to the fact that they were all soaked.

"And they wonder why nobody's ever found it." Gwaine moaned.

Arthur emerged from the trees and found himself on the top of a grassy hill, Merlin gaped at the spectacle before them. A huge stone tower, twice the height of Camelot castle stood before them. The walls were aged and grey but was still magnificent, there were no windows or doors in sight, defiantly looked impenetrable. All they had to do was walk through roughly two or three miles of forest and they would be there!

...

Merlin was wary as they entered the gully, he hated having high walls on either side of him. It was too easy for somebody to ambush them from above. Unfortunately he was broken from his thoughts by Percival crying out as an arrow sunk into his leg.

"Take cover!" Arthur ordered, dragging Merlin to the walls. Percival groaned.

"You alright?" Merlin asked.

"Yeah." he winced, ducking as another arrow embedded itself in the log by his head.

"I'll draw his fire, get him to safety." Arthur whispered to Leon before he ran out from the cover of the walls. Another arrow whizzed through the air, landing in the soft ground by Arthur's feet while Leon dragged Percival into the safety of the opposite wall.

Merlin's eyes raced over the edge searching for something out of place, finally he saw it, a glint of metal in the trees.

"Arthur!" He whispered urgently, nodding tot he place where Borden was hiding.

The elder prince took a deep breath and ran out of cover to reach the slope. Merlin could see Borden aiming at his brother, a flash of the eyes and his cross bow was flying through the air and snapping against the trunk of a nearby tree. By the time Arthur was at the top of the slope, Borden had fled.

"What happened where did he go?" Arthur yelled as the other knights emerged from their hiding places.

"Perhaps he ran out of bolts?" Merlin suggested slyly before hurrying off after Borden.

"Careful!" Arthur chided, grabbing Merlin by the collar, "Who knows what he's left lying in wait for us!"

"But-"

"No buts Merlin, we're making camp."

...

Merlin had never felt so frustrated, every time they got close to Borden they had to stop. Arthur had sent him to get firewood while they served up dinner, just so he'd have something to do other than stamping around the campsite, why the time he returned they were all fast asleep.

"Typical." he growled, dropping the firewood on the ground loudly. Nobody stirred.

"Well, if they think that this will get me to do the washing up," He mused as he picked up the pot to serve himself, stopping mid sentence when he noticed a small bundle of strange smelling cloth. As if on cue Arthur gave a strained breath, followed by all the other knights.

Poison!

Quickly he checked his brothers pulse and breathing, both strained.

"Ic þe þurhhæle þin licsare!" He whispered, Arthur's breathing smoothed almost immediately.

The young prince sighed in relief and made his way to Leon.

...

While the others were still unconscious and resting Merlin raced through the trees, obviously Borden was expecting them all to be dead so he must be going into the tomb now. He paused outside the huge structure, awed by its staggering size but he quickly snapped out of it. He had a dragon egg to save.

Were it not for Borden's coat tails catching the wind Merlin may never of found the door. He watched from the shadows as Borden carefully placed the Triskelion in the oddly shaped keyhole.

"No!" He yelled remembering the druids warning about traps. Borden just gave him a smug look before entering.

Only in the few seconds he had his back turned he didn't see the thick white gas being delivered into the air and walked right into it. Merlin watched slightly sickened as the man collapsed, spluttering and coughing and the toxic fumes poisoned his lungs.

**GOD this episode is boring but necessary! I can't wait till I can upload my chapters after this one. **


	43. Chapter 43: Aithusa IV

**NOTE: READ MY NOTES AT THE END OF THE CHAPTER!**

Borden dropped to the ground after a few seconds and slumped against the inside of the wall. Merlin quickly shielded his face with his arm as the poisonous fumes made their way toward him.

"Þrosm tohweorfe!" He called, his magic quickly pushing back the toxic mist and dispersing it. Even so, the warlock made his way slowly up the stairs, cautious of any other traps that may of been waiting for him.

The prince knelt down at Borden's side, glad to see that he was indeed still breathing weakly, Merlin never relished in somebody else's death even if it was a conman. He would come back and get him later, he got to his feet and quickly grabbed the torch the thief had dropped, it was still burning.

The tunnels were dark and after a few minutes of walking Merlin began to worry that it was a maze and that he may get lost. However this idea swiftly disappeared when a staircase lead him to an ornate room filled with carved stone pillars. It was somewhat similar to Camelot's court rooms, only on a much larger scale and much grander. Were it not for the coating of dust on every surface the place would be one of the most beautiful Merlin had ever seen.

However it was not the room that made a smile break out on his face, it was the small pedestal a few steps away. There, sitting on a small golden ring, was a white egg tinged with blue the side of a melon. He placed the torch on the ground and with slightly trembling hands reached out and cupped the bottom of the egg in his palms.

"It's mine!" A horse voice declared, Merlin turned without taking his hands off the egg. Borden was standing by the stairs, his voice was damaged and rough, that poison had effected his lungs obviously.

"It's not yours to take!" Merlin spat.

"You give it to me, and I will grant you a half share Merlin." The man grumbled, like that was even an option!

"No it must go free." Merlin argued.

"Don't be a fool!" Borden growled, "Think of the power it will bring us! The lands we could rules over! The riches!"

"I don't want that." The prince replied truthfully.

"With this dragon at our command we will live like kings! You can surpass your brother!" Borden continued as he slowly descended the stairs, "We will have the freedom and power to do as we wish!"

"Dragons are not to be used like that!" Merlin snapped in fury, "They must be left unshackled and free to roam the earth."

"But you have the chance to rules over the entire kingdom! To be king yourself!" Borden yelled, he looked confused, "You can escape your miserable life as the peasant prince!"

"It's not my life that's miserable it's yours." Merlin replied with pity, "You've wasted it, for nothing. My brother will be a great king, a better king than I ever could be."

Borden leapt forwards and grabbed the torch, Merlin made sure to keep the egg behind him as the elder man circled.

"I pieced together the Triskelion, I found the path that lead us here! The dragon belongs to me! Now hand it over!"

"No."

The man quickly dove at the young prince, waving the flames perilously close to his face. Merlin ducked and dodged but never gave up his place defending the egg.

"You are not going to stop me boy!"

Finally Merlin was forced backwards landing on his back as Borden reached for the egg.

"Dragon's are magical creatures! They belong to know man!" He bellowed.

"What do you know." Borden sneered, "You're just a Prince! A peasant who got lucky!"

"I'm the last Dragonlord." Merlin replied darkly, "And I am warning you to leave this egg, alone."

The sneer had slipped from his face but it only took the man a second to make the wrong decision as Merlin knew he would. His arm was raised and Borden was knocked back before he had a chance to bring the flames down upon the warlock. He wasted no time, he didn't know how long Borden would be out. Carefully he lifted the egg from its stand, it was quite heavy but not so much that he couldn't handle it. However a strange click echoed through the walls and to his horror they began to crack and crumble. The egg had been sitting on a pressure plate.

With one final look at Borden the prince ran, keeping the egg safely against his chest, leaving the thief to his fate. He was barely outside when the outer walls began to chip and crumble and by the time he'd fled the scene to the hill where he had left his bag the entire tower was turning to ruble. Arthur and the knights came running to him, giving him just enough time to slip the gg into his pack undetected.

"What happened?" Gwaine asked.

"The tomb was a trap, he set it off." Merlin replied, "He never got out."

Arthur then turned to his brother and they began a kind of coded conversation only they understood.

"What about the egg?" Arthur asked, Did you get it?

"Must of perished with him." Merlin replied, I got it.

"We need to be sure, is everything really fine? The eggs gone?" Arthur confirmed, The eggs alright? You are too?

"Yeah, everything is fine." Merlin nodded.

...

Once they had returned to Camelot, the princes stayed in the forest under the pretense of hunting to let off some steam, instead they made their way to the feild where Merlin often called Kilgharrah.

"Well, let me see!" Arthur demanded excitedly, Merlin grinned.

"All the jewels, all the treasures, they don't compare!" He gushed as he opened the bag and gently lifted the egg out, placing it on a stump.

"It's beautiful." Arthur breathed, lightly running a finger over the eggs smooth surface. The two gazed at the egg in wonder until the sun set and the dark shape of the great dragon could be seen flying through the moonlight. He possitivly beamed when he saw the egg.

"Is it still alive?" Arthur asked worridly, "It'd been in that tomb for four hundred years."

"It can lived for a thousand." Kilgharrah smiled.

"So you are no longer the last of your kind!" Merlin smiled, "When will it hatch?"

"Young dragons were called into this world by the dragonlords." Kilgharah replied much to Merlin's shock, "So that duty, falls to you."

"What do you have to do?" Arthur asked excitably.

"You must give the dragon, a name." Kilghrarah told them. Arthur pushed his brother forwards lightly so that he stood before the egg. Seriously he stared at the egg, letting his instincts instruct him, telling him a proper name for the hatchling.

"Aithusa."

Almost immediately the eggs surface began to crack, a tiny growly could be heard and a tiny muzzle pushed through the surface. Bother princes watched in amazement as slowly a claw poked through and finally a tiny white reptilian head.

"A white dragon, is a rare thing." Kilgharrah whispered, "And fitting, for in the dragon tongue you named him after the light of the sun."

The princes were hardly paying attention to the older dragon, focusing on the tiny reptile breaking out of the egg.

"Np dragon birth is without meaning." The elder continued, "In this case I believe the meaning is clear, this dragon bodes well for Albion. The kingdom you will create together."

Merlin felt tears of joy slipping down his cheeks and Arthur didn't even nudge him teasingly. They were both so happy they didn't care,

Everything was perfect.

**1. Im sorry I haven't proofread this very well, I was just glad to get it done.**

**2. Vote for the next chapter!**

**Im doing both ideas eventually but vote to see which one is first!**

**a) Arthur gets a cold and in generally a grumpy, feverish prat while his brother takes care of him.**

**b) A boggart gets loose in the castle and Arthur and Merlin along with some knights have to try and rid Camelot of it without succumbing to their fears. **


	44. Chapter 44: Face Your Fear

"Arthur how is it even humanly possible to have this much paper work?" Merlin groaned as he signed off yet another import export form only to find another seventy waiting for him.

"Joys of being a prince..." Arthur sighed, "At least you're not regent."

"Yeah, let's keep it that way." Merlin sighed.

"Sire!" Came a guard as he burst into the room, "It's you're brother he's-what?"

The guard looked confused to see Merlin sitting there with his brother at his desk.

"I'm what?" Merlin asked.

"Well, you were attacking the king with magic..." The man gaped, "How did you get here?"

The princes didn't bother to answer before taking off towards their fathers room, as they closed in the sound of yelling could be heard through the slightly opened door. Merlin pushed his way into the room and tried to fathom what he was seeing.

Uther was on the floor by the window looking as terrified as the time Morgana had meddled with his mind, eyes blown and breathing erratic. In front of him was, himself with blazing gold eyes, sneering down at his father like an insect.

"Say goodnight Uther, I'm taking over this kingdom myself." The fake Merlin sneered.

Uther looked and saw the real Merlin and blinked in shock, Uther had only just started to heal, this would set him back months! Merlin was frozen in shock allowing a guard to rush forth and stab at the fake Merlin only to have it dodge and transform before their eyes into the largest black snake the prince had even laid eyes on.

"What?" Arthur gaped when he entered the room just as the guard ran out of it screaming like a girl, the giant snake following him and disappearing down the stairs. Arthur shook his head in disbelief while Merlin went to his fathers side.

"It wasn't real...?" Uther questioned, "You were there and here at the same time..."

"A trick, just a magic trick." Merlin assure, "Come on father, you should rest."

...

"A boggart?" Arthur asked, "What in the world is a boggart?"

"A creature of magic." Gaius replied, "It takes the form of what ever you fear the most. For Uther it was Merlin turning to magic, for that guard a snake."

"How do we get rid of it?" Merlin questioned, "We can't have it running loose around the castle!"

"Boggarts like dark, dank places, that's probably why it ended up in Uther's chambers." Gaius theorized, "It's probably been living in the vaults."

"So can we kill it with a sword?" The young prince asked hopefully.

"It's a hard job, you need to weaken it first or it will just change into something else." Gaius sighed, "They are dark and tricky creatures."

"How do we weaken it?" Arthur asked.

"You must appear unafraid." Gaius replied, "If the boggart think it is not scaring you it will change into something else and eventually become confused, that is when it's at it's most weak."

"So it's going to change into what frightens us most and we have to pretend not to be scared?" Merlin gaped, "How?"

"That is something you must figure out for yourselves."

...

The next week was a stressful one, guards places lanterns and fire pits all over the castle but still the boggart found it's way around. All day and night you could hear people yelling and screaming at all manner of monsters. Giant snakes and spiders, rooms filling up with water, floating swords, ghosts, ghouls and even a manticore at one point. Every time the princes arrived the creature was gone. Arthur felt as if he was constantly on-guard, his sleep was lighter than it had ever been, which is why he was easily awakened by a scream from Merlin's chambers down the hall.

"ARTHUR!"

"Merlin!"

When Arthur made it into the room he didn't see anything out of the ordinary, save Merlin who was backed up against the desk shaking like a leaf.

"I-it went up the ch-chimney..." He stammered, "The boggart, I didn't realize..."

"It's alright." Arthur breathed as he helped Merlin up, "What did you see?"

Merlin just shook his head, try as he might the elder prince couldn't get the warlock to admit what had frightened him so.

...

A few days later their luck finally came through with Leon announcing that they had cornered the creature down in the dungeons, Gwaine was keeping it busy. That was worrying. When they two made it down to the dungeons they were hardly surprised to see Gwaine trapped in a cell surrounded by hundreds of empty bottles of ale and being forced to drink water. When Gwaine stopped and took a few deep breaths the barrels disappeared in a strange twisting wind and changed into a very large scaly dragon which started to stalk Leon.

"We all have to stop being frightened of what it shows us!" Arthur yelled, "Or at least trick it."

"Ummm..." Leon stammered as he ended up backed against a wall with the dragon forming smoke from between it's teeth.

"Remember Leon we beat a dragon before!" Lied Merlin, what Leon didn't know wouldn't hurt him. Leon struck out at the dragon which growled with annoyance, the knight grinned.

The knights and the dragon dueled for some minutes before the monster swung it's tail out and knocked both Gwaine and Leon out cold. Leaving it with the two princes.

The dragon turned to Merlin, sizing him up before it began to twist and change, not surprising to Arthur in the least, the last thing Merlin would be afraid of, is a dragon. The prince held out their swords in the defensive stance, waiting for the transformation to form. Arthur almost dropped his sword when a perfect copy of himself formed.

"You're going to the pyre sorcerer!" Spat Not-Arthur who was being joined by copies of the Knights of the round table, Uther and Gwen. Merlin's hand shook eventually causing him to drop the sword and backed down.

"Merlin, I'm right here!" Arthur cried, "It's a fake, remember?"

The warlock took a deep breath and closed his eyes for a second, when he opened them again they were clear of fear. Instead they were steely and straight. Fake Arthur's entourage disappeared and he sneered, turning to the real one. Uh oh.

Arthur got ready to face his fear, unsure as to what it would be, probably his father berating him or even worse, dis-inheriting him. What he wasn't equipped to handle however was the form of Merlin with a deep wound in his side. He looked pale and weak, exactly as he had before Morgana pushed him out the wall and into the swollen moat last year.

"Why didn't you save me?" Not Merlin yelled accusingly, "You're m older brother, you're supposed to protect me!"

"I...I um..." Suddenly the princes mouth had turned to sand paper.

Merlin, the real one acted for his brother and swiping at the fake Merlin who hissed at him in a very un-Merlin like manner. Arthur snapped out of it.

"I'm not afraid of you." Arthur laughed, actually laughed, "The real Merlin is right here! You can't scare us when we're together."

The boggart got desperate, it changed into a snake, then a spider, then a dragon and when none of them induced a single flicker of fear in the princes it got stuck somewhere in between them all.

"Would you like to do the honor?" Merlin offered, handing Excalibur to Arthur from where he'd dropped it.

"Don't mind if I do." He replied, swiftly stabbing the boggart through the middle and making it explode into a cloud of ash and fire.

**Explanation of fears:**

**Uther: Morgana turned evil with magic and because he knows Merlin has it he is afrad he'll loose another child that way. **

**Gwaine: I wanted a funny fear and that was in character.**

**Leon: He was the only person besides Merlin, Uther and Arthur to survive the dragon attack.**

**Merlin: Fear of rejection due to his magic has been ingrained into him ever since birth and Arthur is the person who means the most to him. So his rejection would be the worst. **

**Arthur: Loosing Merlin was very hard for him and he would never wanted to feel that way again. Plus I wanted both brothers to have a fear to do with each other. **


	45. Chapter 45: Prince of Divided Loyalties

"Arthur you are **not** serious." Merlin gaped when he saw the statues marking their passage.

"What else did you have in mind?" Arthur laughed as the princes approached the valley with their usual knights.

"Anything!" Merlin exclaimed, "Nothing good ever happens in the Valley of the Fallen Kings no one in the right mind would go in there."

"Exactly." Percival grinned.

"The routes are secret, that's why we're using them." Arthur chuckled.

The laugh was cut short by a yell, which was followed by a huge crowd. Merlin groaned as he saw two dozen or so bandits make their way down the edges of the gully they were currently riding through.

"What was that?" The warlock taunted.

"No need to get cocky!" His brother growled as he unclipped his cape and drew his sword. They were at an advantage being on tall horses, Merlin slashed as people grabbed at his feet in the stirrups and he couldn't help but laugh as Percival knocked down a group like pins. The moment of amusement ended when he saw Arthur dragged from his horse and busy fighting his attacker to notice the man running for him on a hoirse he'd stolen from one of the knights.

"Arthur!" He called but he paid him no heed.

Quickly glancing at the other knights to make sure they were occupied before thrusting his hand out and the man was knocked from his steed.

"Yah!"

Merlin turned to face the sound seeing another bandit riding toward him swinging a sharp edged mace, he didn't have time to act he could only look in shock. The mace slashed across his chest, right above his heart. All the sounds of clashing swords and yelling were cut out almost instantly his ears were met with nothing but silence and the sound of his struggling heart beat. He found himself only vaguely aware of the fact that he was stumbling to the ground before the whole world went black.

...

Arthur turned just in time to see Merlin fall.

_No...No! Oh God please don't be dead!_

Acting on pure instinct he ran forward and placed his brothers arm over his neck and carried him off into the trees. He could see the other knights taking the same route, they would have to catch up later. He half dragged Merlin to a hiding place among the roots of a tree as the bandits roamed the hills in search of them.

"They need to work through their anger." Merlin joked darkly.

"They just did," Arthur replied, "On you."

They spent much of the afternoon jumping from place to place, Merlin winced with every movement, the injury sent waves of pain all down his side. He was sure it was infected, bandits were not know for the cleanliness of their weapons. Finally they settled down for the night by a log and Arthur was finally able to inspect the wound close up.

He bit his lip when he saw it, the chest was partly sunken, broken ribs and bits of bone would be splintering into the muscle and internal organs with every movement, that included breathing.

"Seen worse,' The eldest prince said finally, "Defiantly seen worse."

"On a dead man?" Merlin laughed then winced.

"You're not going to die Merlin. Don't be such a coward." Arthur hissed.

"If I do die will you call me a hero?" The younger asked.

"Probably." Arthur shrugged.

"But whilst I'm alive Im a coward." Merlin surmised with an annoyed tone.

"That's the way things work, you get the glory when you're not around to appreciate it."

Merlin laughed then winced, taking deep breaths in an obvious attempt to calm himself and distract from the pain.

"You will not die." Arthur repeated, more for himself than his brother.

"I've done it once." Merlin muttered, "Ah well, better me than you."

"I wish you wouldn't say that. You're the worlds most powerful sorcerer, you're Emrys." Arthur growled, "Haven't you grasped that you're just as important as I?"

"You're the Once and Future King though." merlin smiled, God he was infuriating.

...

The snapping of a twig woke the princes the next morning, Merlin's condition had deteriorated, Arthur could tell just by looking at him he couldn't stand on his own.

"I'd love to say we could stay here but another five minutes and we'll be mercenary mince meat." He hushed as he pulled Merlin up and over his shoulder.

"Leave me." Merlin begged.

"Now's not the time for jokes." Arthur replied.

"Please leave me?" Merlin tried.

"Sure, whatever you say." His brother replied sarcastically and began to carry him through the forest.

After a few minutes of walking Arthur found the mossy rocks and boulders that marked an exit out of the valley toward Camelot. Unfortunately it was blocked by two mercenary guards who spotted them immediately. Gently as he could Arthur put Merlin onto the ground and fought. He took down the two men expertly while Merlin watched on from his place on the ground. Horror filled the older prince as the cries of more bandits filled his ears, they were coming.

Thankfully they ignored the injured warlock and rushed straight for him, he struck a defensive pose ready to take them on even though he knew there were too many for him. Some how over the din created by the rushing bandits Arthur heard a whisper of magical tongue he didn't recognize, his eyes met Merlin's which were glowing gold and then the rocks began to fall.

"MERLIN!"

But it was too late, the rocks had completely sealed off the gully, Arthur safe on one side and his brother injured and surrounded on the other.

**Sorry this is a tad short but I wanted to keep Morgana for the next chapter :P**


	46. Chapter 46:Prince of divided loyalties I

The bandits dropped the now unconscious prince onto the ground roughly, unknown to the warlock his own uncle stood over him at Morgana's side.

"You lost how many men?" She sneered, "And you bought me how many men?"

"Arthur was in our grasps." Agravaine began.

"And that's supposed to make me feel better?" The witch spat.

"The rock fall was hardly our fault." Agravaine argued, "Now, I will dispatch this servant."

"You will do no such thing!" Morgana chided him, stopping him before he could fully unsheathe his sword.

"Arthur loves and cares for nobody more than his own brother," She mused aloud, "He can be of use to us."

...

Merlin was jerked into awareness by a bucket of freezing water being poured over him, gasping and spluttering he tried to move away but found his hands bound above him. His eyes darted over the small dark shack and he tried to stand properly, finally his eyes fell on Morgana.

"Good Morning." She smiled sweetly.

"Is it?" He jibed.

"Oh, don't be like that." She pouted in mock sadness, "After all it's been so long since I laid eyes on my little brother. After all I haven't seen you since you condemned Morgause to a slow and painful death, thwarted my plans and forced me to live in a hovel."

"And you always thought I was an under achiever." He grinned, "I can die happy."

"Oh I'm not going to kill you." She replied airily, "I'm not going to make it that easy."

Merlin felt his smile slip from his face, this couldn't be good. Then she left him to shiver in cold and pain while he hung from the roof.

...

"Where's Merlin?" Uther asked when Arthur came to visit him.

The elder prince had returned top Camelot to regroup and have his scrapes attended to with the other nights. He had intended to head straight back out to search for Merlin but apparently his father had been in a bad way this morning and a five minute visit could do wonders for him.

"He's hunting." Arthur lied, Gwen who was his nurse maid at this moment immediately noticed something off with the prince.

"Where is he really?" She whispered, "You'd never leave him out there, and Merlin would never go hunting without you."

"He's alive." Arthur replied, "At least last time I saw him he was."

"Oh." She gasped covering his mouth with her palms.

"Don't worry, I'll find him Gwen." Arthur whispered giving her a quick kiss on the lips while his fathers back was turned, "I promise."

"Sire." His Uncle called, he gave Gwen a soft smile before exiting his fathers rooms to speak with Agravaine.

"We scoured the forests..." His uncle sighed, "But we saw no sign of Merlin, save this."

Arthur felt his heart clench as he looked at the small pieces of bloody, ripped material. It was from Merlin's cape.

...

Merlin bit his lip in frustration as he was forced to dangle from the roof like meat at the butchers while Morgana cleaned his wounds. He wanted nothing more than to send her flying but that would be too rash, he had to bide his time. No matter how much he hated it.

"Ic ðe ðurhhæle ðinu licsar mid ðam sundorcræft ðære ealdan æ. Drycræft ðurhhæle ðina wunda!"

"Why are you healing me?" The prince croaked.

"I need you healthy." She smiled, leaning over her cupboard and retrieving a metal pendant decorated with a tree with branches made of snakes. Slowly she chanted, staring at the medallion and making her way to the fire, muttering in the old tongue.

"Astige ðu wyrm fah ond geþéowe ðæt mod ðisse þeowes. Hine bind ond ða heold. Awendaþ he ealle!"

At the final word she dropped the pendant into the flames and they flashed upwards before lowering and revealing a multi headed snake with shiny black scales. Merlin just stared.

"I take it you've never heard of the Fomorroh before." She smiled and petted the creature lovingly, "Poor thing, he's a little grumpy. He doesn't like to be out in the light."

Merlin choked back bile as she produced a knife and proceeded to sever one of the many snake like heads, only to have another grow in it's place. The creature turned it's head toward him and hissed deeply.

"Fomorroh are creatures of dark magic., even if you cut off their heads, you cannot kill them. Another will just grow in its place." She sneered, "They were once revered, because they have the ability to control people's minds."

Merlin kept his breathing under control, trying his best not to display the panic that was building in his chest while Morgana continued her monologue.

"The Fomorroh will suck the life force out of you. Everything that makes you Merlin will be gone. And in its place there will be just one thought . One thought that will grow until it's consumed you completely. One thought that will be your life's work. You will not be able to rest until it's done. And that one thought is simple. You must kill Arthur Pendragon!"

_NO!_ He screamed mentally but before he had a chance to voice his horror there was a terrible pain in his neck making him writhe and pull against the ropes in a vain attempt to escape it.

...

Naturally Arthur was not going to give up on his brother so easily, this time he;d go look himself. He found Merlin last time, he could do it again.

"Please Arthur, it's dangerous to go out there alone." Gwen begged as he made his way to his horse.

"I have to go." He said with an air of finality which made almost everybody back off, but not Gwen.

"They found no sign of him."

"Do you really expect me to accept that? Just to sit here and take their word that Merlin's gone?" The future king growled.

"Please, just don't go all on your own." She tried.

"He won't be alone!" Gwaine announced riding up to his side, "Where to first?"

For some reason the first place Arthur checked was where he'd found Merlin in his crystal tomb a few short months ago, naturally he wasn't there. Guess he wasn't luck the second time around. He wished Gwaine would stop prattling on, the man couldn't seem to shut up, still, the prince was grateful for his company.

He stopped short when he heard a rustling in the bushes, finally Gwaine stayed quiet as the prince dismounted and peered into the leaves as they shifted.

"Show yourself!" he ordered.

A figure, coated head to toes with mud stumbled out of the muck. It took Arthur a moment the look past the muddy spiked up hair and slime covered face but when he did, he saw his brother. Merlin laughed.

"Merlin!" Arthur grinned embracing him, "I thought we'd lost you!

**I think the rest of this episode will be from Arthur's point of view. **


	47. Chapter 47:Prince of divided loyalties 2

Arthur had to say, he was a little worried that Merlin may of hit his head during his stint in the woods. They had only been back for a few hours and Merlin was not himself. He was snappy and irritable for one, he had simply explained that he'd healed himself and then gotten lost because Arthur had carried him up a path he didn't recognize.

He'd them stormed away and headed over to Gaius's to get himself checked over. He must of been stressed, yes, that had to be it.

...

"Don't do that again Merlin," Gaius chided lightly, "I don't think my heart can take it."

"Well you are getting on a bit." Merlin replied sharply as he rifled through a shelf of bottles. Gaius gaped at him.

"What's them most powerful poison you have?" Merlin inquired before the old man could reply.

"Acanite, why?" Gaius asked suspiciously.

Merlin ignored him, instead he muttered the name of the poison under his breath until he found the bottle of blue liquid and smiled proudly.

"I think I'll take this with me." he announced, Gaius stared, "Well you never know when you might need to kill some one."

"But-"

"I am your prince Gaius, you can't deny me!" He yelled before slamming the door and leaving with the acanite in hand. Gaius felt as if he'd been slapped in the face.

...

Arthur smiled as Gwen passed him another roll, she'd surprised him by bringing him lunch. Her company was just what he needed after the stressful days he'd had looking for his brother. In the back of his mind he wondered if Merlin was feeling better, the question answered itself when Merlin's voice cut sharply through the room.

"Oh I might of known." Merlin was in the doorway holding a plate of food with in one palm.

"Hello Merlin." Arthur smiled.

"What's this?" Merlin asked coldly, nodding his head in the direction of the table.

"Uhhh lunch?" Arthur suggested.

"Look I know you like to take every opportunity to be by his side but this is just getting ridiculous." Merlin growled at Gwen, Arthur felt his jaw drop, "You'll be pouring his bath water next."

"Merlin is something wrong?" Arthur asked feeling very confused, this wasn't like his brother at all.

"This is what's wrong." Merlin replied, pointing at the food already on the table.

"I was just trying to help." Gwen explained, "I thought you might need some rest and that you would be eating on your own today."

"I always eat with Arthur you know that." Merlin snapped.

"Merlin, I think you must be tired you went through quite an ordeal." Arthur said slowly.

"Oh you would take her side wouldn't you." He growled.

Arthur opened his mouth to tell Merlin to be nicer to Gwen but he'd already stormed out of the room. The prince and the servant shared a look.

...

Leon was shocked to find Merlin in the armory, he usually only came down here with Arthur or another knight when he had to. He hardly ever came alone. The young prince was fiddling with an old rusted cross bow looking frustrated.

"You need help?" Leon offered.

"Arthur wants a cross bow." Merlin replied ignoring the question.

"Well, you wont hurt a fly with that old thing." Leon chuckled, "It's ancient."

"What if you did?" merlin asked slyly, "If you did want to hurt a fly or even a person, what would you use?"

"A thing of beauty, like this." Leon told him leading him over to the wall, Leon had always loved the craftsmanship of weapons, they weren't just tools for hurting and maiming, they were beautiful things if made correctly.

He lifted the crossbow off it's hook on the wall and handed it to the prince.

"Carved from fifty year old ash," He explained, running his fingers across the smooth wood, "Be carefu-"

Merlin hit the trigger and an arrow shot out, whizzing through the air and breaking a small barrel into thousands of tiny pieces. The prince broke out in a grin.

"Oh that'll work!" He exclaimed, "That'll do the job very nicely!"

"What is the job exactly?" Leon asked as the prince made his way ot the door.

"To kill Arthur." He replied simply, the knight laughed.

"Driving you mad is he?"

"Not for much longer!"

...

When Gwen saw the commotion around the pig pen she couldn't help but draw closer, shocked to see all the pigs were surrounded by what remained of the lunch Merlin had bought to Arthur that day. Gaius was examining the food with a pair of tongs with a serious look on his face, He then proceeded to collect up every crap of food and ensure the pigs bodies were burned and then hurried back to the castle.

"Acanite." he explained, "Wolfsbane, one of the most deadly poisons known to man."

"Why would Arthur's food be coated in Acanite?" Gwen asked worriedly.

"Merlin took some from me today..." Gaius replied tensely.

"He was really angry when he realized Arthur wasn't going to eat it." Gwen agreed, "But why would Merlin want to kill Arthur? He loves Arthur more than anybody."

"He's been acting strange ever since he returned from the woods, I'm afraid something may of happened to him."

"We'd better go check him."

As they hurriedly made their way around the castle both Gaius and Gwen discovered that Merlin was very difficult to find when you needed him most. As they made their way along the landing Leon appeared grinning to himself.

"Leon have you seen Arthur?" Gwen asked.

"Oh yes, I just got him a crossbow." Leon smiled.

"A cross bow..." Gaius swallowed, "What for?"

"He says he going to kill Arthur." Leon laughed, obviously not seeing the horrified looks on the others faces.

"Do you know where he is now?" Gwen asked.

"Yeah, he's with Arthur getting ready for a knighting ceremony." Leon replied "Why do you-"

They were already gone.

**I am, SO sorry for how long it took me to update but Its three weeks till mid term exams and I have an exam, three folios and a presentation to prepare for. I've been trying to finish up most of my stories before then.**

**I plan on finishing both my Sherlock stories up and that way I can focus on this one. **


	48. Chapter 48: Prince of divided loyalties3

Arthur distractedly started to prepare for the knighting ceremony. Merlin as usual was lounging on his bed paying no heed to how much he was messing up the sheets. His servant had told him the clothes were neatly folded on the second shelf of his cupboard. The people often joked that Turner and William, the princes servants, were the least worked people in all of Camelot. With each of the brothers helping one another instead of them.

"There must be a traitor in our midst." Arthur sighed, "How else would those bandits know where to find us?"

"Dunno, who would betray you?" Merlin answered looking at him intently, "Are you going to get dressed?"

"Yes, in a minute. I do not know why you are so impatient." Arthur sighed approaching his cupboard, "What do you think about Percival?"

"Very big." Merlin scoffed.

"Does that make him a traitor?" Arthur tested, opening the cupboard and fetching his shirt. Raising a confused eyebrow at the look of shock on Merlin's face as he walked away.

"I know you think I can't find my own clothes but really Merlin." He laughed as he slipped behind the screen to change.

"Percival has been loyal to us, plus Cenred's army killed his family, he hates Morgana." Arthur mused, "It's wrong for me to suspect him."

There was a quick snapping sound, like an arrow hitting wood and Arthur looked out to see Merlin standing nervously by his bedpost with something behind his back.

"Are you alright?" Arthur asked, "You've been acting strange, and what was that noise?"

"Nothing, get your ears checked." Merlin snapped.

"Alright, alright." Arthur held up his hands in mock surrender and gathered his belt.

"Grab my ceremonial sword would you?"

"Ceremonial sword…yes that'll do it." He heard Merlin mutter to himself from behind his back.

"You know, sometimes I think you're the only one I can trust Merlin." Arthur sighed sadly, "After Morgana's betrayal and fathers…illness."

"Arthur!" Gwen exclaimed, it was unlike her to burst in without asking.

"Gwen." He smiled stepping to the side, he was about to ask her what was wrong when there was a heavy thump and Merlin was sprawled out on the ground. It didn't take a genius to see he'd just run into the stone pillar at Arthur's side at full force.

He began to stir and Arthur went to offer him a hand but froze when to his complete surprise, Gwen picked up a nearby bucket and smashed it against Merlin's skull. Knocking him out again.

"Gwen what is the meaning of this?" He cried, "Why did you attack him?"

"He was about to cut your head off with a sword." He replied breathing heavily.

"What! That's preposterous!" Arthur yelled, "Merlin would never-"

"Hurt you?" Gaius finished, as he entered, "Not in his right mind no."

"What are you two on about?" The future king exclaimed feeling thoroughly out of the loop.

…

They slumped Merlin over a chair and Gaius examined his neck, Arthur made a face when he saw a deep black shadows moving underneath his brothers skin like a worm.

"I thought as much." Gaius murmured.

"What is it?" Gwen asked.

"A Fomorroh." Gaius replied, "In the days of the old religion they were used by the dark priests to control people's minds. Somebody with a high skill for magic has inserted it into Merlin and is using to complete a task, that task appears to be to kill you, Arthur."

"We all know who could of done it." Arthur growled, "Morgana turned my own brother against me!"

"Relax Arthur," Gaius soothed picking up a knife, "I will remove it and then Merlin will be back to his old self."

The physician dabbed the prince's neck until the shadow stopped moving, paralysed by whatever the cloth had been soaked in. The king looked away as Gaius dug the knife into Merlin's neck and after a few minutes, extracted the head of what appeared to be a snake. Gwen gagged.

"Is that it?" She asked.

"I believe so." Gaius sighed, "Let's wait until he wakes up but I believe he is healthy."

…

While his brother rested Arthur spent the day speaking to councillors and members of parliament in an effort to discover whom this traitor was. Eventually he had no choice but to call upon his uncle.

"Uncle, you and three other members of my council were aware of the treaty." Arthur said simple, no beating around the bush, "It brings me no pleasure to suspect you."

"Arthur you cannot seriously believe that I would betray you!" His uncle exclaimed.

"As I said it brings me no pleasure, but none the less you are a suspect." Arthur sighed.

"Let me give you less reason to doubt me." Agravaine replied gently, "You are all that is left of my dear sister, your mother. Betraying you would be betrayed her, and that I could never do."

He looked at his Uncles face, he seemed sincere and he was right. Though he had seen little of Agravaine he knew that he loved his mother dearly. His father, that was another matter but he was always civil at least.

"And remember, it was your brother who you discussed routes with." Agravaine added.

"Merlin hated the route, he complained the entire way." Arthur defended.

"Did he do that because he hated the route or because he knew that something was waiting there for you?"

"Uncle this is ridiculous, Merlin is as loyal as they come. I will not have you speaking about him this way!"

…

"Rise and shine!"

The peacefully dark room was suddenly flooded with light, Arthur groaned and opened his eyes. Merlin was grinning at him.

"Merlin!" He growled throwing a pillow at him, "Where's Turner?"

"I told him to go get your breakfast and give me the honour of waking you!" Merlin smiled.

"Yay." Replied Arthur flatly getting out of bed, "You're feeling better then?"

"Oh yes!" Merlin replied, as he passed Arthur a goblet of water, "Never better!"

Arthur smiled, it really did seem like his brother was back at least that's what he thought until Merlin turned and he spotted the moving black mark on his neck. The goblet froze halfway to his lips. Uh oh.

Quietly he stood and discreetly poured the water out the window, better safe than sorry.

"Forgive me for this Merlin." He sighed.

The young prince turned around just in time for Arthur to bring the goblet down on his head.

**Arthur's POV as promised! This is my only story now that I've finished the others I was working on. But I still have Mid term exams to work on so I will not be super fast. **


	49. Chapter 49:Prince of divided loyalties4

"Why is it back?" Arthur asked as Gaius dabbed at Merlin's neck again.

The youngest prince was slumped on Gaius's table, still knocked out from the blow Arthur had dealt him.

"It would appear, if you take it out another will grow in it's place." Gaius sighed, "I should of guessed, it is the nature of the beast."

"Well what do we do?" Arthur sighed, "We can't have Merlin trying to assassinate me every day!"

"Firstly, let's talk to Merlin, the real Merlin." Gaius suggested, "I've paralysed the head, he should be free of it's influence for a while now."

Dropping the cloth the physician quickly grabbed a small smoking salt from the bowl and held it under the princes nose. After a few twitches he began to cough and splutter, jumping up into the sitting position on the table.

"What is that!" he coughed, "Arthur's socks? What are you trying to do to me?"

"We're trying to stop you from killing me!" Arthur replied.

"Oh…"

…

"You really don't remember anything?" Gaius gaped, Merlin sat at the physicians table stuffing his face with berries. Apparently he'd been so obsessed ith his 'mission' he'd forgotten to eat.

"Morgana conjured the snake, then…nothing." Merlin admitted.

"Lucky for us you're a bad assassin." Arthur smirked.

"This isn't a joke Arthur," Gaius scolded, "It may be dormant for now but it will awake and then Morgana will possess him again and nothing will stop him from killing you."

"How are we supposed to kill it then?" Merlin posed, "It will just grow back."

"There is nothing else for it, you have to kill the mother beast." Gaius told him gravely, "You'll have to go to Morgana's hut, find it and dispose of it."

"How long does he have before that thing wakes up?" Arthur asked.

"About a day, no more." Gaius replied.

"We'd better act fast." Arthur mused, "We'll have to-"

"Oh no, I'll do it myself." Merlin nodded, "I'll go in disguise, the old man one. Morgana is powerful I want to be able to use my magic freely without having to restrain myself."

"But-"

"You can't be seen collaborating with an old sorcerer, it's not time yet." Merlin said again, "Pretend that I've taken ill, then take the knights on patrol to get some air, but stay in the area near me. That way if things get too heated I can always call on you and no other Camelot knights will try and arrest me."

"Merlin you can't just-"

"A future king should listen to his advisor!" Merlin grinned.

...

To see the face of an old man but know it was somebody younger than you, your little brother no less, was always a strange experience. Hence why Arthur did not stick around to witness the transformation.

Merlin wasn't fond of his best disguise either, sure it was near impossible to recognise him but he ached all over and his bones were old. It took him twice the time to do things. Luckily Arthur lead his patrol in the completely wrong direction, giving him easy access to Morgana's hut. Once inside he rifled through every box and each nook and cranny but no pendant and no Fomorroh.

Then he heard the creak of a door and there stood Morgana, arms loaded with fire wood. He huffed and to his great surprise she dropped the wood and raced out the door in fear. Using this to his advantage he kept searching but only for a few moments, Morgana re entered gingerly. She looked frightened and her quavering voice only confirmed it.

"You're not real."

"What ever you say!" Merlin snapped, using her fear to his advantage.

Remembering what Morgana said about the Fomorroh's aversion to sunlight he flicked a piece of cloth covering a large jar revealing the hissing monster.

"you're just my imagination." Morgana continued, oh well he could play that.

"That's right." He replied, "I'm not really here, just pretend is all."

He grabbed the jar as Morgana came forward, he knocked her back into a rickety bookshelf with a single look. He hobbled outside as quickly as he could, damn this old body! He heard Morgana's voice reciting the old tongue and turned just in time to be blown off his feet.

"So Emrys, it seems you will not be my doom after all." Morgana smiled, she knew he was Emrys?

He yelled out in the old tongue, he wasn't even sure of the spell, it was instinctual, out of fear. He rose to his feet slowly. Morgana was at the bottom of the hill by the thick roots of a tree, he stood over her.

"If I'm to die by your hand you could at least tell me who you are." She whimpered.

"Why are you here? Did Arthur send you?" She asked, he stayed silent, "Why? Arthur is no friend of yours, magic has no place in Camelot."

She sat abruptly, eyes a blaze, Merlin barely dodged the dagger that flew toward him from the side. He was knocked down, the jar once again being ripped from his fingers. Morgana picked it up, smiling and began to depart.

Summoning as much energy as he could Merlin summoned the winds, forming a misty white whirlwind by the trees. Morgana tried in van to stop it as it came for her but she was caught in it's winds lifted into the air and thrown heavily against the ground. The energy the spell took was immense and the warlock fell to his knees exhausted.

Once he had his breath he conjured a small fire and three the horrid creature into the flames. Pin flared in his neck making him gasp and wince but then he felt a calmness wash over him. He was free.

...

It felt wonderful to be back in his own body again and even better that he had no desire to kill his brother. He made his way back through the woods happily, his peace was disturbed by a yell that sounded suspiciously like Arthur, followed by a loud splash. The younger prince looked trough the trees to see the knights laughing while Arthur pulled himself out of the icy river.

"I go away for a few hours and look at you, soaked through." Merlin laughed.

"Sire! We thought you were ill." Percival greeted, whoops he'd forgotten that.

"I'm fine, Arthur had that up so I could go and get some fresh air." Merlin made up on the spot, "I've been feeling a little restless since...you know."

"Right." Gwaine nodded, "We should get back tot he castle before Arthur catches a cold."

"I'm not an infa.. !" Arthur sneezed.

"Too late." Merlin sighed, "Come on Arthur!"

**I'll be doing The Wicked Day soon as promised. **


	50. Chapter 50: Brothers Care

"Arthur's birthday isn't far away now," Merlin spoke idly, "The party is next week."

Uther didn't reply, it was one of those days. Merlin knew he should of come over more often but he'd been so busy lately.

"He says we are going to celebrate my birthday as well, since I missed it." Merlin continued, "I'll make sure they send you some food from the feast."

"Has Arthur been to see you?" The prince tried, "He told me yesterday he would, he was going to visit last night but Gaius told him it was best he go to bed early after his fall in the river."

Uther shook his head. That was something.

"I am tired." he sighed slowly rising, "Go attend to your duties Merlin."

Merlin nodded in acknowledgement, it was rare for Uther to speak at all on a bad day, so an order was welcome. He made his way toward Arthur's room, he hadn't seen him all morning which was odd. He had expected Arthur would join him at breakfast but he didn't which was odd. He assumed Arthur was with father and didn't think much of it.

As usual he waltzed into Arthur's room without knocking, surprised to find the curtains still closed. Where was Turner? Oh that's right, William told him Arthur had given Turner a few days off in order to lead the preparations for the party.

"Come on Arthur, up and at 'em!" Merlin grinned as he went over to open the curtains, "It'll be lunch time soon!"

Arthur replied with a pained groan, which made Merlin abandon the curtains and rush over to the bed. Arthur was curled up and sweating under the thick blankets, Merlin felt his forehead not surprised to find it burning.

"You clotpole, I told you you'd get sick." He sighed.

"'m not sick." Arthur groaned revealing he was in fact awake, "You're the one who get's sick."

"Evidently, both of us do." Merlin grinned, "I'm going to find a servant and get you some soup and water."

Arthur gave another groan and curled up again making himself look a lot like a child.

Merlin soon found a servant and ordered them to go down to the kitchen and grab a bowl of soup, some bread and a pitcher of water. He then got another to bring him some extra candle which he lit with his magic once the doors were closed. Gaius quickly gave Arthur the look over, announcing it was a bad case of the flu which would last a week at least. Arthur was suffering from a bad fever, terrible headache and a sore throat and most likely wouldn't even be out of bed for a few days. But he was not in life threatening danger, which calmed Merlin considerably.

As he was the regents brother duty called for Merlin to take over in his brothers absence. Merlin immediately call the round table knights together and they all split the job between them so Merlin could stay with Arthur and watch over him. Leon and the knights did most of the leg work leaving the piles of paper work to Merlin, usually he would of groaned but paper work could be done easily while sitting at Arthur's desk.

"Arthur you are going to eat this soup if I have to force feed you." Merlin growled, "Stop being a child."

"I'm not hungry." Arthur croaked, "Let me sleep."

Rolling his eyes Merlin propped Arthur up and shoved the spoon into his face, reluctantly Arthur took the bowl and sipped at the soup. He got through half of it before he became nauseous but Merlin could live with that.

...

Merlin was woken by a rough couch from Arthur's bed, he shot upwards making an annoyed grunt as he realised a sheet of paper was stuck to his face. After peeling it off he went over to check Arthur who was reading a report that had fallen from the desk. The cloth that had been on his forehead had slipped off and into the bucket of cool water by the bed.

"Come on Arthur, you rest." Merlin yawned taking the paper from Arthur.

"You don't have to be my nursemaid you know." Arthur sighed.

"You always look after me," Merlin pointed out as he fished the rag out of the water and squeezed the excess water out of it.

"Brothers look after each other." Merlin continued, laying the cloth over Arthur's feverish forehead, "Besides this is going to get worse before it gets better, better to have a familiar face. Don't want you punching a servant in a fevered haze."

Arthur snorted like it was the stupidest thing he'd ever heard but then screwed up his face, he'd made his headache worse.

...

"Arthur stop thrashing about!" Merlin yelled in frustration.

"I can't help it, it's hot." Arthur huffed, "I'm restless and exhausted at the same time."

"I know I know, but Gaius says the fever should break some time soon." Merlin assured him, "You will be on the mend by tomorrow."

Arthur groaned.

The warlock flopped down on the floor by the bucket in a huff, he had to keep Arthur distracted some how until his body let him fall asleep again. That's when he got an idea, quickly checking that the door was locked he jumped onto the foot of his brother's bed, grinning.

"Here, watch this." He offered, eyes glowing.

Slowly a stream of water raised itself into the air and formed a round ball in the air between the two brothers. Concentrating Merlin shifted the water into the shape of a fish and had it 'swim' around the air.

"See? It's a reverse fish." He grinned, Arthur laughed rolling his eyes.

Next he changed it into a dog, then a horse and finally a dragon. Completing the illusion by having the dragon breath a thin water mist over the future king.

"Hey!" Arthur laughed whipping the moisture from his face, "That's unfair I can't splash you back!"

"Too bad." Merlin grinned, changing the water into a hawk and flying it around the room through some more water formed hoops.

"Most powerful sorcerer of all time," Arthur mused, "Are you're making animals out of water."

"You wound me Arthur!" Merlin replied in mock offence, "Look I can do ice too!"

The water formed a ball above Arthur's head and with the flick of a finger turned instantly to powdery white snow, which fell on the man's face.

"Ugh!" Arthur coughed, "Well, that's one way tot cool a fever."

**Fluff ^^**


	51. Chapter 51: The Wicked Day I

Merlin had never seen the castle courtyard so alive. The acrobats rode in upon carriages, throwing confetti and ribbons as they went, jugglers, fire breathers, clowns and all sorts were dancing about the entrance to the castle among it's people grinning as they went. A man flipped onto another shoulder and proceeded to jungle several silver batons with ease.

"Woah! Did you see that?" Merlin grinned as he leaned out Arthur's window watching the festivities below. Arthur leaned over his brothers shoulder with a bored look on his face.

"There's a man, throwing some sticks in the air." he drawled before walking back into his room.

"What's wrong?" Merlin moaned, "It's your birthday! A huge feast is being held in your honor, you've got dancers, jugglers and acrobats to entertain you."

Arthur pulled a face.

"It must be a terrible burden." Merlin mocked.

"Maybe I'm less easily impressed than you." Arthur suggested with a hint of a real smile.

"I'm really looking forward to it." Merlin continued.

"Because you have the mind of a child." Arthur ruffled Merlin's hair which always made him annoyed.

"And yet I'm still more intelligent that you." Merlin grumbled as Arthur left the room.

"I heard that!"

...

He knew that he was a man and that his birthday should stop bothering him so much but it was hard to forget the pain his birth caused. How can you celebrate his birth when it was the cause of his mothers death? In order to distract himself he sat with his father, Even after Merlin's return his mental health was terrible.

"The Court discussed the annual levy this morning. The council has suggested we raise it, but I feel the people are already overburdened-"

"We should not talk of matters of court today." Uther cut in weakly, Arthur blinked in surprise at the eloquent reply. These days Uther hardly spoke at all let along so properly.

"Father?"

"You think, that I would ever forget today is the anniversary of your birth?" Uther smiled softly.

"I take it there are suitable celebrations for this evening?" Uther continued.

"Since Merlin is sharing it we ordered some entertainers." Arthur replied, "For the feast. I'll tell you all about it tomorrow."

"Nonsense." Uther dismissed, "You think I would miss my own son's anniversary?"

...

The feast had been amazing and as promise, the entertainment was exactly that. Even Arthur smiled when a man breathed fire. Though Merlin decided the appearance of their father was mostly responsible for Arthur's mood. Uther was sitting at his place between his sons, smiling, laughing and drinking. For a little while Merlin could pretend everything was alright, as it used to be.

"I require a volunteer!" The head entertainer announced, "Prince Merlin, people always say you are the shadow to your older brother, why not come and prove them wrong?"

"Uh, is that safe?" Merlin whispered.

"It's knife throwing of course not but you can hardly refuse." Arthur replied riding his brother of his cape and pushing him to the middle of the room where the entertainers then proceeded to rope him to a large wheel.

"Never fear my lord, I never miss my target." The entertainer smiled, then pushed an apple into his mouth. Merlin's face reddened as he heard Arthur laugh, he couldn't dwell on it though because then the wheel began to spin. A loud thump told him the first knife had been thrown, he couldn't help but sigh in relief that it hadn't hit him.

The next embedded itself right next to his face and then there was a pause which made him even more nervous than he already was. Then a loud tearing sound, he blinked and to his shock, the final knife was sticking out of the apple in his mouth.

The room erupted in applause and Merlin let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding.

"See Merlin, told you there was nothing to worry about." Arthur laughed clamping him on the back.

Merlin tossed the apple into the air before biting into it, it tasted a little bitter for some reason but he didn't really think about it. He probably should of.

...

"You're drunk." Arthur laughed as the princes leant on one another as they walked up the corridor.

"No, you're drunk!" Merlin slurred.

It was odd, He'd only drank a few goblets of wine, unlike his brother who had practically drank an entire barrel.

"Was good to see father enjoying himself." Arthur mused, "Got a little quiet toward the end though."

"Perhaps we should go see 'im?" Merlin suggested.

The two staggered toward their fathers chambers, doing their best to appear more sober as they passed the guards. They found their father asleep in his chair, unable to face standing any longer they both flopped down into the wooden chairs opposite him.

"Dunno why I drank so much." Arthur muttered, "That last glass had an awful bitter taste to it..."

Merlin was about to reply when he saw the reflection of a person walking toward then in the shiny metal goblet. He barely managed to get himself to his feet in time to draw his sword. Arthur rose as well, yelling for the guards, something was wrong, neither of then could walk straight. It only took the man, whom Merlin now recognized as the head entertained, to knock him down followed by Merlin.

Merlin pushed himself up on his palms but his legs wouldn't work, he only had enough time to look round as the entertainer bought his sword down on him. Just in time for it to be stopped by his own sword, now in Uther's hands.

"It will take more than a coward like you to kill my son." He seethed, knocking the attacker back.

Merlin pushed himself into the sitting position, Arthur had gotten to his feet and was aiding their father. Whatever drug they had been slipped was still active however and suddenly Arthur was unarmed again. Uther was forced back onto the table, desperately Merlin tried to call upon his magic but he was barely able to shift the sword on the ground a few feet from him, let alone levitate it toward him.

The man knocked Arthur to the ground.

"Anything to say to your son before I kill him?" The man taunted.

Uther swung his sword at him, barely able to block in time the entertainer was knocked to the ground. Uther readied his sword for the final blow and everything seemed to speed up, too fast for either brother to act. Uther bought the sword down as the entertainer bought his up, straight into the kings chest.

**As promised, The Wicked Day! I told you I'd do it, just not in order. Im not sure what other episodes from this season I'm going to do. Deff The Sword in the Stone and Herald of a New Age but I cant decide whether its worth doing Lamia**


	52. Chapter 52: The Wicked Day II

Uther pulled his sword from the entertainers body, the man slumped against the floor, dead. Uther stumbled backwards a few steps while his sons looked on wide eyed.

"Father?" Arthur asked weakly, he got no reply.

The eldest prince barely moved forward in time to catch the king as he fell to the ground. Merlin scurried over to where Arthur was holding Uther in his lap, they were both in shock. Trembling, Arthur removed his hand from his father's side, it came away red. The white shirt the king was dressed in was bloodied and slowly the stain was moving outwards.

"No..." Arthur whispered.

"Guards...guards!" Merlin yelled weakly, nobody replied. The entertainer had probably killed them on the way in.

"I'll go get help." said Merlin, he was about to get to his feet but Uther griped the hem on his shirt weakly.

"Stay with me." He whispered.

"We're here father." Arthur insisted, "Guards! Some one...we need help..."

The call had started off strong but Arthur was half sobbing by the time it was finished.

"It's my time." Uther whispered.

"No." Arthur denied quickly, "You can't die."

"I know you will both make me proud, as you have always done." Uther whispered weakly, his eyes were fluttering closed.

"No, stop it." Merlin begged.

"You will be a great king Arthur." Uther continued.

"I-I'm not ready." Arthur shook his head quickly.

"You've been ready...for some time." Uther insisted, "And Merlin will make a great advisor."

"No, we need you." Merlin insisted, he could feel tears burning behind his eyes.

"I know I've not been a...a good father." Uther continued, "I put my duty to Camelot first...I'm sorry."

"Don't say that." Arthur sobbed.

Uther placed his hand over Arthur's and Merlin's where they were sitting over his wound.

"But know this...I've always loved you." The king whispered, "Both of you."

And with that the kings eyes fluttered closed and he became very still, Arthur sobbed. Merlin for once was the least emotional, outwardly at least. He looked away and squeezed his eyes closed to stop the tears from leaking out.

"Can't you do something?" Arthur begged.

"I...I'll try." Merlin bit his lip.

Shakily he placed his hand over the wound and focused as hard as he could.

"Ic þe þurhhæle þin licsare mid þam sundorcræftas þære ealdaþ æ!" He hissed, eyes burned brighter than they ever had before but it made no difference.

"Try again!" Arthur insisted, Merlin shook his head weakly.

"That's the most powerful healing spell I know of, if it didn't work now...it's too late." Merlin sobbed a little toward the end.

"He...he can't be gone!" Arthur sobbed, Merlin had never seen him so distraught.

"I tried..." Merlin hung his head in shame, his greatest gift and he couldn't even save his own father.

"I know." Arthur whispered.

Slowly he lowered Uther onto the ground at his feet, for a while both the brothers stayed, kneeling either side just looking down at the king. Silently hoping for some miracle to occur and start his heart again, but no such miracle came. Eventually Merlin came to sit next to Arthur against the foot of Uther's bed and both began blinking back tears once more.

And that's how Gaius found them, hours later when he came to check on the king and found his guards dead at the door. Uther laid on the ground with his sons sitting by his body with their arms wrapped around each other and tear tracks down their faces. Merlin had his head resting on Arthur's shoulder, Arthur's head rested against Merlin's.

Somehow they managed to relay the story of Uther's death, Gaius confirmed with a quick examination that they had been drugged, Merlin through the apple, Arthur with the final glass of wine. Agravaine tried to force Arthur to his feet but the two princes clung to each other intently.

"I'll take care of this, you two need to get a few hours sleep." Gaius hushed helping them to their feet together, "I will prepare the king for his funeral ceremony tomorrow evening."

The princes nodded wearily as headed down the halls toward their rooms with their heads low. Arthur's room was closest, but instead of continuing to his own room Merlin followed him inside, leaning against the door as it closed.

"You're king." The warlock murmured, "You'll be crowned day after tomorrow."

"I know." Arthur replied, "We're both orphans now."

"Our sister hates us and wants us dead." Merlin added darkly.

"You're the only family I have left." Arthur replied sitting down on the fur rug by his fire.

"There's Agravaine." Merlin pointed out as he joined him.

"A man whose been absent our entire lives and pretends you don't exist." Arthur scoffed.

Eventually the fire dimmed and so did the princes consciousness. The two fell asleep on the rug as they always did when they were stressed or upset. In the morning nobody woke them, nobody could bare to.

...

The princes spent the day trying to prepare for Uther's funeral. They would be given time alone with his body, to mourn, from dusk until dawn. Then they would burry the body and Arthur would be crowned king. The two were grateful Gaius had taken care of the arrangements, neither of them felt strong enough. Finally the sun began to set and the brothers dressed in their formal attire, nobody spoke to them as they opened the doors to the great hall and closed them again, stone faced.

The king was dressed in his formal attire, complete with crown and ceremonial sword. The body was resting on an ornate platform with the Pendragon crest adorning the cloth. The otherwise dark room was lit only with a few sparse candle and moon light. It was a haunting scene.

Merlin knew Arthur was hurting more than he. Though he cared for Uther as a father, even loved him to a degree, there had been and always would be a rift between the king and his youngest son. Fate granted Merlin magic, that would always dampen his relationship with his father. But he was still his father after all, the only father he'd ever known, deep down Merlin knew Uther had accepted and loved him. He would mourn his loss, but he would not be scarred like Arthur.

They sat at their fathers side, occasionally whispering words to the body, or one another and before they knew it the sun was rising. Golden rays replaces silver and warmed the room.

"It's a new day." Arthur sighed, Merlin nodded.

It was time to take Uther to the crypt.

...

People rushed into the throne room, knights, nobles, peasants. Music echoed about the castle as the ceremony began. Merlin stood to the right of the golden throne, small silver crown adorning his brow, now he was regent and advisor to the king.

Everybody in the crowd bowed as Arthur entered, red cape flowing out behind him, Merlin couldn't help but smile. Geoffrey held the great golden crown in his hands as Arthur kneeled before the throne.

"Will you solemnly promise and swear to govern the Peoples of Camelot according to their respective laws and customs?" He asked.

"I solemnly swear to do so." Arthur replied.

"Will you to your power cause Law and Justice, in Mercy, to be executed in all your judgments?"

"I will."

"Then by the sacred laws vested in me, I pronounce you Arthur, King of Camelot!"

Geoffrey gently placed the golden crown on Arthur's head, Merlin beamed proudly. The brothers locked eyes for a short second as the elder turned to face the crowd.

"Long live the king!" Merlin yelled.

"Long live the king!" The crowd replied.

"Long live the king! Long live the king!"

**Yeah I decided to take this episode in another direction than in the show. So sue me. :P I've been burried under my thesis work, 6,789 so far and I've only done 2 out of 7 chapters .**


	53. Chapter 53: The First Decree

Merlin reached under his bed and bought out the small wooden box he'd hidden there. He clicked it open and smiled, here is where he kept all his keep sakes. Inside was his enchanted leather, he'd added new memories now, ones of himself and Arthur and even one of Uther sitting on his throne. There was his dagger crested with the seal of the Pendragon's that Uther had given him when he learnt to throw knives. The seal Arthur had given him that had once belonged to his mother. He'd taken to wearing the seal on his belt nowadays, just like how Arthur always wore the stone bear Merlin gave him.

"Sire, the king is looking for you." His servant Will called from the doorway, "Are you ready?"

"Yes, I'm coming." Merlin replied attaching the seal to his belt, "You can still call him my brother you know."

It had been a few weeks since Uther's death, Arthur had been rushing from job to job ever since. Merlin helped as much as he could but there was only so much he could do. Naturally the first thing they had spoken about was the ban on magic, Merlin had been keen to change it straight away but Arthur had pointed out the problem with doing that.

_"Merlin what will the people think if, the day after our fathers death, we eradicate his most famous law?" Arthur asked him._

_"They will think we're like Morgana." Merlin sighed._

_"We will keep the law for a while, but we will be lenient." Arthur said softly, "I promise I wont be sentencing any healers or innocent druids to death."_

_"How long?" Merlin asked dejectedly._

_"I don't know, but we need to let the people come into contact with magic slowly, so they trust it again."_

_"So I'm still in hiding." Merlin sighed looking away from Arthur, he knew his brother was right but he was so tired of hiding._

_"I know I'm sorry." Arthur placed a hand on his shoulder, "I promise you won't have to forever."_

_"It's not your fault, I know you're right." Merlin smiled sadly, "So, we need to let people trust magic, apart from sparing people who don't use magic for evil is there anything else we can do?"_

_"I think so." Arthur smiled._

...

Arthur was waiting for him on the balcony, just out of sight of the crowd gathered below. The people were curious as to what Arthur's first decree as king would be, basically all of Camelot was in the courtyard. Merlin smiled and Arthur elbowed him.

"Late as always." He teased, Merlin shrugged and pushed his brother towards to parapets and the people let out a cheer. Merlin stepped up next to him smiling.

"People of Camelot," Arthur began, only Merlin could detect the trace of nervousness in his voice.

"For twenty years we have hunted and persecuted the Druid people because of the magic that was part of their culture. They were chased from their homes and forced to live in forests in tents. Forced to risk their necks sneaking into towns just to get basic supplies. Today I am putting a stop to that."

The crowd was silent.

"Many of you may have noticed my brother Merlin leaving the city a lot in the past few weeks for days at a time." Arthur continued, "He has been visiting the druids, and completing a treaty with their people. Not all druids practice magic, these days very few in fact. In exchange for their acceptance and equality in out culture those who do practice magic have been sworn to do so no longer."

What he conveniently left out was the fact that all Druids knew Merlin was Emrys and happily agreed not to use magic in the presence of other people. They were not banned from practicing as Arthur implied, they were simply to be discreet. Merlin explained Arthur's plan to integrate magic in slowly, starting with the laxer rules and their welcome to Camelot.

"From now on, the Druids are just as much a citizen of Camelot as you are." Arthur told the people, "My fathers rule bought peace to a degree and I will always respect that, but it also spread ignorance and hate. We need to be willing to accept these people, they are a peaceful people and I have no doubt they will bring nothing but happiness to our community."

At first the princes were nervous when Arthur's speech was met with silence, until a few seconds past and their ears were met with cheers.

"Long live King Arthur!"

"Long live the king!"

...

Slowly but surely the Druids became a ore and more common sight in the city, some seemed nervous at first but soon they were right at home. Some tribes moved into the city, others were finally able to make permanent homes, villages of their own. Many of them spoke to Merlin privately when he walked through town through telepathy, normal people being none the wiser. Usually they were just thanking him for allowing them inside the city, sometimes they told him the goings on in the city. Everything from new births to corrupt guards.

The people of Camelot were slightly wary at first, tension ran high, but it only took a few weeks for them to accept the Druid people. Many of them were wonderful healers and physicians, Merlin had allowed them to make magical tinctures and potions as long as the people taking them didn't know it was magic.

"You're doing well you know." Merlin told his brother who he'd found asleep in his stew.

"Thank you." Arthur sighed trying to clean his face.

"You should sleep in bed, not your dinner." Merlin laughed.

"I was up late thinking about the taxes and-"

"Arthur!" Merlin chuckled, "Take a break, you're doing fine!"

Arthur sighed and looked out the window, Merlin could tell he felt like he was drowning in expectations. He had to help Arthur loosen up a little until he became comfortable being king. Grinning to himself he locked the door and levitated a pillow off Arthur's bed and aimed it at Arthur's shoulder.

Arthur raised an eyebrow at his brother.

"Kings do not have pillow fights Merlin." He drawled.

"Prince Arthur did." Merlin teased.

"Well King Arthur does not." Arthur replied tersely. Merlin flung another pillow at him, Arthur was trying not to smile now.

"Oh fine." Merlin sighed turning to leave only to have a cushion hit the back of his head.

The warlock grinned.

**Hehe :P**


	54. Chapter 54: Interlude

Alrighty so I am starting The Sword in the Stone soon but before I do I have several ideas for chapters but I think if I do them all it will get a tad tedious cause they are similar, so I'm putting it to a vote. Please tell me which of these you want to see the most! I will write the most popular ones.

- Merlin gets poisoned (Over protective brother Arthur and fluff)

- A gwen and Arthur chapter

- Merlin leaves Camelot for a few days and Arthur keeps worrying that he's been attacked or fallen down a ditch or is otherwise hurt without him around. Gwen tries to calm him down. (No actual danger in this one, just Arthur worrying over nothing)

- Elena comes to stay

- A pandemic has Camelot in its clutches and Arthur and Merlin set off to find a cure. One of them will succumb to the disease at some point.

Vote away!


	55. Chapter 55: Fangs I

Merlin had started the day in a good mood, the sun was shining, the druids were out offering their healing services and Arthur had finally loosened up. All was well in the world, at least to Merlin, unfortunately his little bubble of perfection was burst when several people came rushing through the castle gates, carrying a number of other civilians. They were obviously sick.

Quickly he offered his services, ignoring the fact that as royalty he should just get servants to do it for him and carried a young woman to Gaius chamber. The physician began busily working on the victims, four in all, while the healthy ones looked on.

The sick were pale, their skin had a sickly grey pallor. The most unsettling thing had to be their veins though, clearly visible through the almost translucent skin, they were jet black. Between the black blood and grey skin they appeared almost stone like, Merlin almost jumped when Gaius pulled back an eye lid to reveal pasty white irises.

"What did this?" Merlin asked uneasily.

"A Naga." Gaius replied sourly, " A creature of dark magic. It's venom is deadly, I'm afraid I can't do anything for these people but ease their passing."

"What?" One of the healthy men cried, "Surely you have a cure!"

"I'm afraid the only cure is the blood of a Naga mixed with willow root." Gaius explained, "Willow root I have but Naga blood is hard to come by, the blood must be boiled with the willow and administered within 48 hours of the bite. At the very latest."

"Isn't there time for us to go and find a Naga?" Merlin asked.

"Not for these people I'm afraid." Gaius shook his head, "I will make a draught that induced deep sleep, they will pass without pain."

The villagers wept for their lost loved ones while Merlin quickly located Gaius's bestiary and flicked through it until he came to Naga. A page was taken up by an illustration of one of the strangest creatures Merlin had ever seen. The torso and face belonged to a young man; a forked tongue came from his mouth, slipping between four sharp fangs, two on the top, two on the bottom. His eyes were thin, the pupils merely slits. Surrounding his neck was a large, scaly frill like that of a cobra and his human hands were tipped with sharp claw like nails. However where his legs should have been was a large to snake tail. By him was a large sword half his height, sticking out of the ground.

Besides the drawing was writing.

_The Naga is a half human, half snake demon that hatches from eggs laid by the females. Notoriously long-lived and ever youthful these evil creatures sustain themselves on the blood of other creatures and replacing it with their venom. They tend to prefer carnivores to herbivores. Their bite is venomous, the time until death is changeable depending on how much blood was taken from the victim, Naga's never drain a victim completely. The longest a human can last is five days, however if the Naga is hungry at the time of bite it can be cut down to two. Aside from the venom bite their claws are extremely sharp and their tails are armour by near impenetrable scales. They have been known to carry large swords as a precautionary measure, these swords are made from the bones of other Naga's and strengthened by their venom but are breakable. Their weak point is the chest and neck. _

"One has taken up residence in the caves by our village." A man told him once he was done, "At first he only took our cattle but then he disappeared for a month. We thought he'd gone but then he attacked the village and drained these people of most of their blood."

"We can't have a Naga running around." Merlin told Gaius, "I'll get Arthur and the Knight of the Round Table, we'll take care of it."

Gaius nodded and set about making his potion.

…

When Arthur heard about what had happened he agreed with Merlin whole heartedly, this Naga needed to be slain. They would take bottles with them as well to gather up as much of it's blood as they could just in case this happened again in the future. Before they knew it they were on their way to the village to locate these caves. The villager had told him the creature changed caves each night and there were dozens, it would take them a while to find him.

He wasn't lying; the caves were bored into a rock face almost half a mile long, in a range of sizes. Leon pointed out that they should stick together, while splitting up would save time if they encountered the beast while they were alone they were as good as dead.

"Here snakey snakey snakey!" Gwaine called into the cave, this one ran particularly deep, "Come out and play!"

"Are you even able to act serious?" Percival grinned.

"I hope not.' Gwaine replied, The others chuckled.

That was normal, laughing while hunting a blood sucking half snake monstrosity. Just another day in the life of Merlin the warlock. Out of the corner of his eyes Merlin noticed a small side tunnel and without thinking poked his head down it, inside was a small cavern with some large boulders, no Naga. Merlin turned to head back to main tunnel, he didn't see the snake like yes peep over the back of the largest boulder.

"You ssssmell nice." Came a breathy male voice. Merlin jumped and turned, Sword drawn in one hand, torch in the other. He was face to face with the creature from the book, he was a few heads taller than the prince, scales a glimmering green and hair black as pitch. He crawled over the boulder and slid over to the prince, hands out in front of himself ready to grab him.

"I haven't eaten in agessss." He grinned, "All the villagerssss ran away and I do hate the tasssste of deer blood."

"Arthur! It's here!" Merlin called without fear, swiping at the creatures chest with his sword. It hissed.

"Now, I'm not an it." The Naga hissed silkily, "You could at leasssst have the decency to call me a he."

He'd fallen for a trick; while the creature was talking he had wrapped his long tail around the warlock from behind and with a quick movement pushed him into the room away from the door.

"Now, assss much asss I enjoy playing with my food, I'm sssstarving." The Naga boy hissed.

He slithered toward the prince, a deep hissing erupting from his throat as he opened his mouth and bared his fangs.

"Astrice!" Merlin commanded quietly, sending the hungry Naga flying. It growled.

"Magic, interesssting, you magical folk alwayssss tassste the besssst." He growled, snapping out his long armoured table and knocking the prince down with the force of a charging bull.

Arthur and the others arrived in the doorway with a yell but Merlin didn't hear it properly he felt the air knocked out of him and his torch and sword slip from his grip. The Naga hissed as the fire burnt his tail, it seemed that while the scales were armoured, fire still hurt him.

"Merlin!" Arthur cried charging forward, only to be knocked down by the Naga's thick tail.

By the time Arthur had gotten to his feet the Naga was leaning over Merlin who kicked it in the chest, which only served to anger him. While the Naga recoiled from the blow Merlin made his move toward his sword but just as he was about to reach it the Naga grabbed him, digging it's nails into the skin on his arm. The free nails tore apart the chain mail and cloth at Merlin's shoulder revealing the skin beneath.

And before anybody could stop him the Naga had sunk all four fangs into the youngest princes shoulder.

* * *

><p><strong>Poisoned Merlin was the most popular so far! So I wrote that one up. Naga's are creatures from Indian mythology but they didn't drain blood or ave swords made from bones. I made all that stuff up.<strong>

**The picture I based the Naga off is by Zanten on Deviant Art, its named 'Karok cobra naga'**


	56. Chapter 56: Fangs II

Having ones blood drained is a strange feeling, Merlin decided. After the initial short cry of pain when the fangs slipped through his skin his body seemed to crumble. Like a puppet with it's strings cut, his vision wavered sickeningly. He wasn't sure how long he stayed that way but suddenly the fangs were being ripped out of his body and he was being flung across the room. Blearily he looked to see the Naga grinning at the small army in front of him and disarming them with a swipe of his long armored tail, the prince couldn't help but wince when Gwaine slammed into one of the boulders, that arm would be fractured at least.

"After it!" Arthur cried as the Naga slipped back out into the main tunnels.

While the other knights save Gwaine ran after the creature Arthur came to his brothers side.

"Merlin can you hear me?" He asked.

_Of course I can hear you_, Merlin thought, _I just can't seem to get my tongue to work. Why is it so cold all of a sudden? _

...

Within seconds of the bite Merlin had paled, now the blackness of his veins where the poison was spreading began to show. Arthur wasn't sure if he could hear him, Merlin's eyes were open but they were glassy and unresponsive.

"It got away sire." Percival sighed, "Slipped down into the tunnels."

"Well go after it!" Arthur ordered, "Gwaine come with me, we need to find a safe place for Merlin, we'll use one of the houses from the village."

"Good idea." Gwaine nodded, rubbing his arm.

"You go ahead and make sure we're safe, I'll cary my brother," Arthur continued, "The rest of you search for the Naga, stay together no matter what. Come find us in the village in a few hours time if you are unsuccessful."

The knights hurried off while Gwaine and Arthur made their way slowly back down to the village, the later doing his best not to jostle his ailing brother.

"You can never stay out of trouble can you?" Arthur sighed trying to act as if it was only a flesh wound, "Do you enjoy throwing yourself at monsters?"

"There's a bed in here." Gwaine called, indicating to a medium sized hut.

Inside sat a man in his forties with a thick beard, when Arthur walked in he simply nodded to the corner. The bed was small but better than the ground Merlin had grown up sleeping on in Ealdor, the two men tried to make him as comfortable as possible.

"Gwaine..." Merlin coughed, "You're arm's hurt..."

"Yeah but I think you're in a worse state mate." Gwaine joked darkly, "I'll splint it in a bit."

"But I could-"

"No, Merlin not now." Arthur quickly hushed, "Just...go to sleep."

"What was he going to say?" Gwaine asked.

"Nothing." Arthur replied a little too quickly, "The poison is confusing him."

Gwaine gave the king a strange look but didn't push the matter, Arthur let out an internal sigh of relief. He had to keep an eye on his brother, Merlin had a habit of doing magic in his sleep, especially when he was ill.

"Merlin you have to focus, you can go healing people. Not yet." Arthur whispered as Gwaine went outside to splint his arm.

"Right..." Merlin sighed, groaning as the pain began.

"I'm Tom." The bearded man cut in, Arthur had almost forgotten he was there. Luckily he'd been stacking wood into the hearth and had not heard the brothers whispering.

"I'm the village leader, I stayed behind to keep our farms running." He explained.

"Isn't that dangerous?" Arthur replied, "With the Naga around, it said you had all run off."

"I've been keeping out of sight. If nobody was here to tend our crops we'd come home to a very starving village." Tom said simply, "I am the head of the village so naturally I am the best choice."

"You're very brave." Arthur praised.

...

"Sorry Sire, we couldn't catch the Naga." Leon reported, "It's getting dark sire, we will have to wait until dawn to safely search for it again."

"Fair enough." Arthur nodded, "It's too dangerous out there at night."

The knights were gathered around the hearth eating the food they had packed to bring with them, Tom made himself welcome with them, telling them all about the Naga's previous attacks. Merlin groaned in his sleep, he'd been unconscious for hours now but that didn't stop him feeling pain. The prince rolled over, hand flopping onto the ground.

"Arthur..."

"I should sit with him." Arthur excused himself, though he'd barely eaten anyway.

"A-Arthur..."

"Shhh, go back to sleep." Arthur hushed.

The king stayed with Merlin, pushing his hair back from his face and trying to sooth him back to sleep when the pain became too much.

"Who is he?" Tom asked, "He can't just be any old knight."

"He's Prince Merlin." Elyan replied, "Arthur's younger brother."

"Ah," Tom nodded, "Very close then?"

"Arthur loves his brother more than anybody." Gwaine agreed, "And believe me the feeling is mutual."

"I'm sorry he's going to lose him." Tom said sincerely.

"Merlin isn't going to die!" Arthur yelled, revealing he could hear them, "Tomorrow I am going to find that Naga, get the blood and make the cure."

"I hope you do sire." Tom replied, he was sincere again.

"I will."

...

"Leon?" Gwaine whispered as he joined the man outside the hut.

"You don't have to do guard duty tonight Gwaine." Leon smiled, "Rest your arm for the fight tomorrow."

"I know, I'm...worried."

Leon's smile dropped, Gwaine was rarely serious but when he was, he meant bussiness.

"About Merlin?" Leon asked, the other knight nodded.

"And the king." Gwaine admitted, nodding his head in the direction of the far window.

Merlin was pale, speckled with black veins and flushed with fever. He was currently in the midst of a fitful fever fueled sleep. Arthur was asleep, leaning up against the bed holding his brothers arm lightly, he'd refused to move.

"Arthur barely recovered when Merlin was thought dead the first time. What happens if we can't save him?" Gwaine asked, "Not only will I lose a mate but I think we will lose a king."

Leon bit his lip, "It was only a week, he was on his feet again-"

"Because he knew he was needed, now with his father dead I don't think we'll be able to keep him above water again."

They never mentioned 'The Week' to Merlin, he'd of hated himself forever had they done so. The first week after Merlin had been thought dead the prince had been in the same state as Uther, just a shadow floating around the castle. It was only after Gwen begged him that he 'woke up' and started living again and searching for Merlin.

"Merlin will be alright." Leon decided, "We'll get the blood and take it back to Gaius and all will be well."

"You really think so?"

"I hope so."

* * *

><p><strong>Sorry for the slow update! After this story I will probably go onto the Sword int he Stone or do one more of those stories you guys voted on. We shall see. <strong>


	57. Chapter 57: Fangs III

H

Morning arrived, Tom promised he'd watch over Merlin while the knights and king headed off to kill the Naga. Percival pocket several small jars for the blood, Arthur wasn't leaving until he had it, they all knew that.

"I'll be back soon and you'll be better." Arthur told his brother who was only partly lucid. Merlin have him a weak smile, while he didn't understand the words the general tone of the kings voice was soothing.

They started in the cavern where Merlin had first fought the creature, then slowly they made their way through the tunnels, leaving no stone unturned or shadow unchecked. As the hours passed Arthur began to despair. What if the Naga was gone? What if it had move on?

Arthur was investigating a small crevice in one of the walls when he felt his hairs stand on end. Call it a knights instincts, he was very hard to sneak a up on. Spinning on his heels he turned to face the other nights, scanning the room until he found a pair of cold, not human, eyes staring back.

"There!" he yelled, Elyan held out his torch, dimly illuminating the Naga who was now in possession of a large white sword.

"You're not getting away this time." Leon growled blocking the only exit with his body, "You've hurt our prince."

"You will pay for hurting my brother." Arthur growled unsheathing his sword and pointing at it at the Naga, it hissed.

"I once had a brother too." The Naga replied, "But he wassss killed for hissss blood. I made thisss sssword from his bonesss."

The Naga stroked the sword almost lovingly and for a moment Arthur almost felt sorry for it, him really, the Naga was a he. But that didn't change the fact that he'd killed several people and Merlin was on his way to becoming part of that list. And nobody hurts his little brother and gets away with it.

All of a sudden there is a clashing of swords and hissing and they were fighting. Gwaine yelped in pain as the Naga threw him against the wall jarring his already injured arm, Elyan went to his defense. The scales on the Naga's tail were heavy and armored, Arthur's sword seemed bounce off it. Naturally he was going to have to go for the chest, but getting to it was easier said than don, that great tail was always in the way.

So he waited, feigning attack until the tail cam straight at him and skillfully dodged it and before the Naga could pull it back to defend himself, Arthur had his sword in the creatures chest. The large half snake half human body thumped to the floor heavily and Percival quickly made a show of collecting the blood while Leon helped Gwaine.

"Come on, we need to find willow root to boil this with." Arthur ordered.

"I'll go." Elyan volunteered, "I know plants."

"We'll meet you back at Tom's hut." Arthur nodded before running back to the village with the other knights.

...

"He's gotten a lot worse since you left." Tom reported, "He's been mumbling God knows what for the past hour."

For the first time in years Arthur thanked the Gods these people knew nothing about magic.

"Merlin." Arthur called sitting down on the ground by the bed, "Brother can you hear me?"

Merlin didn't reply, his breath was so wheezy Arthur doubted he could talk even if he was conscious.

Elyan boiled the blood and willow when he returned, the smell was putrid, everybody was coughing and gaging.

"We have to make him drink this stuff?" Gwaine retched, "How will he keep it down?"

"Just pass it to me." Arthur sighed trying not to be sick.

Gently he propped his brother up against his chest and held his nose.

"Sorry about this." He grimaced before pouring the deep red broth into his mouth. Merlin coughed and trembled but eventually the horrid potion went down. And now we wait.

...

The first thought that came into Merlin's fogged mind was that his mouth felt strange, then the taste came.

"Oh my God!" He coughed wiping at his tongue with his mouth, "Thats the worst thing I;ve ever tasted ugh!"

"You're awake sire!" Leon smiled, "About time, we thought the potion wasn't going to work."

"You mean the Naga blood!" Merlin coughed, "Oh god!"

"At least your still breathing." Elyan smiled, "Arthur's been worried sick."

The knight pointed to the end of the bed which the prince was now residing in, the king was slumped against it fast asleep.

"Oh we are going to tease him about this aren't we?" Gwaine grinned.

"Relentlessly." Merlin agreed before flopping back down on the bed exhausted.

"Don't wake him." Merlin ordered when Percival got up to wake Arthur to tell him the good news, "He probably needs the rest."

For a while there was silence and Merlin rested but didn't sleep.

"Don't do that again." Leon finally spoke up, "I don't think Arthur could take it, the first time was bad enough."

"It's not like I try to get myself in these situations." Merlin smirked before turning serious, "What do you mean?"

The knights all shared a look.

"Nobody wanted to tell you." Elyan said quietly looking at the floor, "But after we all thought you'd died after Morgana's raid, Arthur was just the same as Uther for the first week."

Merlin's mind immediately filled with memories of his father sitting and staring at nothing for days on end. Then putting Arthur in his fathers place, he shivered. That was terrifying.

"I'll be more careful." Merlin nodded quietly.

...

When Arthur opened his eyes he saw the knights were all asleep, as was Tom. Immediately his eyes flew to Merlin who despite looking much less pale, was still asleep. He sighed, the medicine should of worked dammit! What if he'd been too late.

"Mmpfh, Arthur, stop shaking the bed." Merlin sighed turning over and sitting up, rubbing his eyes.

"Merlin!" Arthur beamed wrapping his arms around his brothers neck.

"Nice to see you too." Merlin grinned when Arthur let go.

"I swear Merlin you are the worst knight I've ever had." Arthur joked, "I spend more time rescuing you than anybody."

"Oh yeah, like I've never saved your life." Merlin bit back jokingly.

**Sorry! I know I'm late and this is rushed!**


	58. Chapter 58: Finale I

"Come on Arthur what is taking you so long?" Merlin moaned, fiddling with his dagger, "It's the Feast of Beltane, we can't be late."

"Just...give me a moment." Arthur replied sounding stressed. Merlin quirked an eyebrow.

"Are you alright?"

"Fine!"

The answer came a little too quickly. Curious Merlin walked around to Arthur's changing screen to find the man straining to get into his belt, the prince laughed.

"Need some help?" He offered holding up his dagger.

"Tell no one of this!" Arthur said quickly handing the belt over reluctantly.

"Relax." Merlin grinned, "The belt is simply one hole short of perfection."

...

The feast was lively, with music and talking all around. Funnily enough Agrivaine was no where to be seen.

"Gaius have you seen my uncle?" Arthur asked as they sat down to eat.

"It's unusual for him to miss a meal." Merlin added.

"Sorry sires I haven't seen him since this morning." Gaius replied as he sat down at the table.

Merlin couldn't help but giggle as Arthur's eye lit up at a plate of roasted swallows, his brother really did love feasts.

"Excellent!" Arthur grinned grabbing a few and placing them on his plate.

"Careful Arthur, we wouldn't want anymore holes in your belt." Merlin winked. Arthur sulked.

Well he sulked for a while, he then opted to spend some time not very subtly watching Gwen as she worked. Merlin rolled his eyes.

"Honestly you're king, there is nothing stopping you from asking a servant to dance." Merlin whispered to him, "Practically the entire kingdom has guessed anyway."

"I know I just..." Arthur fumbled, Merlin sighed.

"Man up already."

"Oh you shut up, or I'll start reading your letters to Elena to the court."

Merlin was instantly quiet.

However the joyful scene came to an abrupt end when the warning bells began to ring and Gwaine raced into the room.

"Sire we're under attack!" He reported, "They're within the city walls."

Oh no...

"Merlin get everybody to safety." Arthur ordered removing his cape.

"Yes brother." Merlin nodded, "Everybody follow me!"

The prince lead the nobles to the back rooms of the castle before joining the knights, he could tell just by looking that the lower town was already lost. The intruders had set it ablaze and soon it would be little more than ash. Then he saw a familiar figure in the courtyard leading a wave of soldiers, Agravaine.

"That snake!" he hissed.

He had to find Arthur and tell him. He ran through the corridors, slicing through a few soldiers as he went. How had they managed to reach the citadel so quickly? A yell echoed from around the corridor, Merlin knew that voice.

He skidded to a halt just in time to grab Arthur as he weakly stumbled over, there was blood seeping through his back. He'd been struck, badly.

"We need to get out of here." Merlin hissed, "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine." Arthur gasped, liar.

Eventually the king stopped to rest again the walls.

"Okay, maybe a broken rib...or two." he winced.

"Arthur there is something I need to tell you." Merlin started.

"Morgana!" Arthur interrupted pointing to the witch clothed in black leading yet another wave. The warlock should of known she was the real brains behind this. He felt his brother stiffen when Agravaine joined her.

"Uncle..."

It took only a few seconds for him to begin trembling with rage. Merlin caught him just in time to stop him running out and cutting down his traitorous uncle right there.

"You're injured." Merlin whispered, "We'll get him but not now."

Half carrying, half dragging Arthur they made their way to the banquet hall. It was the only place that Morgana's people had not yet taken but they were close, the prince could hear them coming.

"I can bind your ribcage but even then you run the risk of puncturing a lung." Gaius explained to the weakening Arthur.

"Do whatever it takes Gaius as long as I can swing a sword!" Arthur replied.

Merlin was about to tell Arthur to stop being stupid when Percival and Gwaine came through the doors and barely bolted them shut.

"Where do we stand?" He asked desperately.

"They have almost taken the citadel." Gwaine replied grimly, "We can't hold out much longer..."

"You and Arthur need to leave." Percival spoke up, "We have only minutes and if they find you, they'll kill you."

"We can't just leave you all." Merlin argued.

"Many of the people have fled to the forest with Leon, we'll be fine. Find a safe place for Arthur to heal." Gwaine ordered, "We'll find you."

"Alright, we'll be back." Merlin nodded.

Making his way over to Gaius he whispered his plan. He knew Arthur wouldn't listen to reason and leave, he'd have to result to magic. Gaius gave him a nod of approval before warning Arthur about the pain and pressing down on his wound.

The spell was simple but it had it's down sides. Arthur would basically do anything he said, not against his will but because he didn't know any better. He'd basically turned the king into a child. A very big child.

"Arthur we need to go." he urged.

"Yes of course." Arthur replied looking slightly dazed.

"Come on I've got him." Percival smiled looping Arthur's arm around his shoulder and helping the injured king to walk toward the back entrance.

...

Finally after what seemed like an age they were a safe distance from the city, Merlin glanced back at the castle. Fires were still burning in his city, biting his lip he turned and continued to flee. Leon and Elyan ran with them helping the still wounded king, the prince hoped his friends were safe back in the castle.

"They'll come after us." Leon panted, "They know you're both still alive."

"We need to cross the border, find sanctuary any way we can." Elyan replied.

"I know a place!" Merlin realized, "Ealdor, it's beyond the white mountains."

Merlin hadn't spoken of his old village in years, barely even a thought. The idea of going back to the village that rejected him made his gut tighten for some reason. He didn't have long to dwell on this however as his ears picked up a strange sound.

"Wait, stop!" He hissed, "Listen."

Hoof beats. They were on their trail.

"Run!" Percival hissed.

Merlin glanced over his shoulder as they ran, he could see the dark shapes of Morgana and her men approaching, were there any doubt he lost it when he felt himself flung through the air by magic.

Without thinking he picked himself up, going to his brothers side and helping him to his feet with the aid of Elyan.

"Where's Percival?" He asked glancing around.

"We have to go!" Elyan insisted, still running.

Regretting the action Merlin turned and ran, they simply didn't have time to find the other knight. Elyan lead the two royals down a path between the rocks handing Merlin Arthur's sword, he'd lost his own in the blast.

"Go." Elyan repeated.

"But what about you?" Merlin gasped.

"Don't worry about me, go!"

"Thank you."

Merlin spared the brave man one last glance before griping his brothers shoulder and pushing him forward.

"Come on Arthur, run!"


	59. Chapter 59: Finale II

The prince and his brother continued to run through the green undergrowth and fog for hours until finally Merlin stopped. Only to have Arthur run straight into him.

"Sorry, my fault." The king muttered.

"Well, we're safe for now but we have to change." Merlin decided, "We're too noticeable in these clothes."

Arthur looked down at his royal clothes and to Merlin's as if he had been unaware that he'd been wearing them until a second ago.

"Whatever you say, I'm in your hands." Arthur replied with a smile.

Oh God that was creepy.

"I'm going to pay dearly for enchanting you like this…"

…

Merlin wasn't a fan of stealing clothes, he knew the people probably needed them but it was necessary. He'd run past quickly, not really paying attention to what size the outfits were. Luckily the slacks and tunic he'd picked for himself fitted perfectly. He felt oddly nostalgic, all he needed was a neckerchief and he'd look just like the peasant he once was.

"Hurry up Arthur!" He called from the other side of the stone wall where Arthur's clothes were now hanging as he changed.

"Agh! Sorry Merlin." Arthur replied, "These clothes are a little on the tight side…"

"Beggars can't be choosers." Merlin pointed out.

"No, you're right." Arthur replied face appearing over the wall, "I should probably think before I speak."

"It'd be a start." Merlin grinned.

Arthur revealed himself and his brother had to hold back a snort of laughter. The rough material was at least two sizes too small. The pants were an inch above his ankles, the shirt was short enough that his stomach showed and the vest barely covered his breastbone.

"Arthur what can I say?" Merlin chuckled, "You look like a turnip head!"

Arthur looked confused by the comment. Maybe he'd made this spell a little too strong…

Oh well, he'd just have to wait until it wore off, in the mean time…

"My gold!" Arthur argued as Merlin took the pouch from him.

"Probably safer with me." Merlin pointed out pocketing it.

"Of course."

…

As funny as this spell had made Arthur it was beginning to get on Merlin's nerves, he couldn't do anything! Half the time Merlin wasn't even sure how much of what he said got through.

"Wait here." Merlin ordered slowly, Arthur nodded enthusiastically.

He made his way forward and glanced down through the trees, ah ha! A travel caravan, he thought he'd heard something. He was about to call Arthur when he felt a sword in his back. Why did he leave that spare sword on the ground?

"Hello." Smiled a blonde woman.

"Sorry Merlin, I couldn't hide and stay in the same place at the same time." Arthur explained as the woman bought them forward. Great, Now his sword was sitting by a tree and Arthur couldn't exactly use his. Not without loosing one of his own limbs.

"I found these two lurking in the woods." The woman reported to an older man.

"Really?" The man smiled casually, "See anything interesting?"

"No." Merlin replied stone faced.

Arthur barely ducked in time when the man threw a knife at his head.

"Watch where you stick your beak boy." The man growled, the friendly act now gone. Well that didn't last long.

"We didn't see anything I swear." Merlin implored.

"They've got no horses, no supplies." The woman reported.

"Like to travel light do you?" Tristan asked.

"Something like that." Merlin admitted, "We're heading over the border."

"Lot's Kingdom…" The man mused, "He doesn't take kindly to strangers."

"So why are you going?" Arthur asked, Merlin shushed him.

"What's wrong with him?" The man scoffed.

"He's a simpleton he can't help it." Merlin argued.

"That's no lie Tristan, didn't even move when I caught him." The woman laughed.

"Look after him do you?" Tristan teased.

"He's my little brother, without me he wouldn't last a day."

"Well then, get going." Tristan sighed.

"Could we not come with you?" Merlin tried, "I…I'd be grateful for the company…"

"I'm very annoying!" Arthur grinned.

"We can pay." Merlin offered, Tristan grinned.

That did it.

…

"No, no brother the door is on the other side." Merlin sighed exasperated as Arthur stuck his leg out the window of the caravan. He could here his new traveling companions snickering.

They had stopped to make camp and he was doing his best to be useful and stay low on the radar. However when your brother was a simpleton it was very hard not to generate attention.

"Just go, look at the trees or something." Merlin said finally, "Just don't wonder off!"

As Arthur went off and enthusiastically started knocking on trees Merlin rolled his eyes and began handing off supplies from the caravan. Suddenly he smelt something, strong, coming from a box at the back. Curiously he opened it up and found it full of frankincense.

"That must be worth a fortune." He breathed. The woman, whom he'd learnt was called Isolde, snapped the lid shut.

"That doesn't concern you."

"You're smugglers." Merlin realised.

"We prefer to think of it as free trade." Tristan smiled placing an arm around her.

"It's illegal, the king could kill you." Merlin argued.

"The king could never catch us." Tristan scoffed, "He's too much of an idiot."

Merlin's eyes flew to Arthur who was listening to the inside of a tree as he knocked at it with his fist.

"You don't say…"

…

While the smugglers let them travel together they were not keen on sharing. They gave Merlin a small pot of soup for himself and Arthur and then ordered they made a campfire of their own instead of sharing.

"More soup?" Merlin offered.

"Yes please!" Arthur replied.

"Oh Please?" Merlin teased as he scooped up the soup and gave it to Arthur, "I could get used to you being so polite."

"I'm not polite?"

"Not really, no." Merlin laughed.

"I'm sorry." Arthur said seriously.

"Oh don't be, the minute this wears off I will pay for it…"

"I'll do the washing up." Arthur offered ignoring the comment.

Well, Merlin was hardly going to pass that up!

**This chapter is more filler really, I wanted to wait and do Arthur when he was back to normal in the next chapter and then do all the drama. This chapter is some humour filler :P **


	60. Chapter 60: Finale III

When Arthur awoke he found himself dressed in clothes two sizes too small, laying on a cold blanket in the middle of a forest camp full of strangers. Considering his last memory was of being in a castle being pillaged by his sister with really terrible anger management issues, he considered that perhaps he needed catching up.

"Merlin!" He hissed, giving the man a rough kick with his boot.

"You'd better have a damned good explanation for this!"

Merlin blinked at him.

"Or I could continue to kick you." Arthur offered.

Merlin was on his feet in seconds.

"You're back!" He said finally.

"What on earth are you on about?"

"Camelot was lost." Merlin admitted, "We only had minutes to escape and I knew you wouldn't go even though we had to so...I may or may not of enchanted you."

"You enchanted me!" Arthur growled.

"Just a little." Merlin shrunk, "I swear it's completely harmless, you were just a little...less thoughtful than usual."

"If you ever do that again-"

"I know I know." merlin hung his head, "But we're on our way to a safe haven, to Ealdor. Hopefully those who escaped will meet us there."

"Alright, so who are these people?" Arthur asked finally, Merlin bit his lip.

"They're uh...smugglers."

"Smugglers!"

"Shhh!"

"I swear I can't leave you alone for five minutes can I." Arthur growled, "You can't even find clothes my size!"

"It's the perfect disguise, nobody would suspect you of being the king."

"Boy!" Tristan yelled, "We're leaving soon, explain it to your little brother would you?"

Oh he was going to kill Merlin.

...

"Where's my sword?" Arthur asked.

"You dropped it." Merlin replied, "Be thankful it wasn't Excalibur."

"Give me that." Arthur snatched Merlin's sword fro him, Merlin let him. It was fair enough that Arthur was angry.

"I swear Arthur, it was he only thing I could think of." Merlin whispered.

"Is it safe letting that simpleton carry a sword?" Tristan asked.

"It, uh, makes him feel safe." Merlin replied ruffling Arthur's hair

Tristan scoffed and kept walking.

"Simpleton?" Arthur asked through clenched teeth.

"Just keep it up for a little while." Merlin pleaded.

"How long?"

Arthur's question was immediately answered when an arrow shot through the air and impaled the man to their left. Agravaine had caught up with them, at least his men had.

"Let's move!" Arthur hissed, pulling Merlin behind the caravan as more arrows embedded themselves in the trees around them. Arthur immediately located a crossbow inside and turned to Tristan and Isolde.

"Head for those trees we'll cover you." He ordered, the two shared a look.

"Do you want to live or not?" Merlin asked.

Tristan looked as if he were going to say more but was tugged away by Isolde before he had the chance. The prince and king grabbed the arrows and fired, reloading over and over but making very little difference.

"Now what?" Merlin asked.

"We're not getting anywhere with this, it's out turn." Arthur nodded.

"Who's going to cover us?"

"Don't be a simpleton Merlin." Arthur grinned, turning and firing a final time before taking off into the trees after the smugglers. The four huddled behind a mossy log, watching as Agravaine searched the area.

"They didn't find the cargo." Isolde breathed.

"They will but it doesn't matter." Tristan spat, "They weren't after the cargo they were after you! Who the hell are you?"

"My name," Arthur sighed, "Is Arthur Pendragon and this is my brother Merlin."

"The king and prince of Camelot?" Tristan growled.

"Well, we were." Merlin sighed.

"i've lost everything I worked for, for some good for nothing king!" The smuggler spat.

"Brave words from a smuggler." Arthur bit back.

"Well I wouldn't have to be a smuggler if it wasn't for your damned taxes would I?"

"Those taxes help protect the people of this land!"

"What about when the people are dead? You call that protection?"

"Sorry to interrupt but I think we can debate the taxes later." Merlin cut in, indicating to the soldiers currently coming their way.

Arthur drew his sword as did Tristan and Isolde, Merlin hung back, ready to use his magic if necessary. Arthur cut down a man and quickly threw his discarded sword to his brother. However he was swiftly distracted when Isolde cried out, she'd been struck with a sword and while the wound was superficial she was about to gain another, not so superficial one if somebody didn't stop the charging solider.

Arthur raised his sword and ran the man through.

Tristan ran to his wife's side.

"Isolde." he breathed, gathering her up in his arms, "We had a deal, partners for life remember?"

"When have I not kept my promises?" She whispered, Tristan kissed her forehead.

"We need to keep moving." Arthur cut in, "There will be more coming soon."

"Then go." Tristan hissed, "There's nothing stopping you."

"Come with us to Ealdor." Merlin offered.

"I'd rather keep my distance from you, this is your fault." Tristan growled.

"He saved my life." Isolde smiled, "Let's go."

"Very well," He breathed, "But know this Pendragons, I do this for her. You are your kind bring nothing but misery to this land."

...

They traveled through the mountains in silence for the most part. Settling down about a half days journey to Ealdor. Tristan and Isolde retired early, Isolde from fatigue and Tristan because he couldn't bare to leave her side.

Arthur sat with merlin around the small fire, the king was the one to break the silence.

"I can't believe I didn't see." He sighed, "I was just as blind to Agravaine as I was to Morgana."

"It's not your fault." Merlin replied, "I didn't see either."

"Is Tristan right? Am I really such a terrible king?"

"Tristan was angry." Merlin argued, "And afraid, he needed to blame somebody, that's all."

"you're my brother you have to say that."

"I was loyal to you long before I knew I was your brother and you know it." Merlin replied, "I'm not alone either, the people love you, just as much as I do."

...

"That's it!" Merlin exclaimed as they crossed the hill, "Ealdor."

The village was small and green, made up of stone huts and surrounded by fields. It hadn't changed at all since he'd left all those years ago. Part of Merlin felt guilt, after he'd started the fire that killed his guardian he'd all but been exiled. Not that the people knew it was his fault Mary's hut had burnt down but still, nobody wanted to extra mouth to feed.

"So, this is where you grew up." Arthur mused as they entered.

"Grew up?" Tristan blinked, "I thought you said that this was Merlin Pendragon."

"I am." Merlin replied, "But I grew up a peasant."

Tristan seemed shocked by this and opened his mouth to say more but he was stopped when voices cried out.

"Merlin! Merlin, is that you?"

A short man walk walking toward them with a girl with dark hair who promptly hugged the prince, Merlin grinned. The girl stepped back and the man grabbed the princes arm, both of them grinned like idiots.

"We thought we'd never see you again." the woman beamed, "Some people thought you'd been eaten by wolves or something."

"I'm not that stupid." merlin scoffed.

"Debatable." Arthur cut in.

"Who're these people then?" the man asked.

"This is my brother, Arthur." Merlin began, "And this is Tristan and his wife Isolde. She's injured and needs help."

"Here, I'll take her to the medical hut." the woman offered.

"Thanks. Tristan go with her." Merlin offered, he nodded in reply and walked off with the woman.

"So you've got a brother." The man mused, "That's interesting."

"Yes, if you don't mind me asking who're you?" Arthur asked.

"Oh, this is Will." Merlin introduced, "He and Freya are friends of mine."

"Yes, now let's get back to my place. You have a lot to catch me up on!"

* * *

><p><strong>Oh finally! this took forever to write!<strong>


	61. Chapter 61: Finale IV

Freya took care of Isolde while Will got the hungry travelers some food, Merlin and Tristan ate the gruel happily, Arthur had a little more trouble. His brother smirked at him, which forced Arthur to swallow without complaint.

"So Merlin, you found that family that took you in a see." Will smiled, "I hope you don't mind me saying but you don't look to well off."

Arthur looked down at his clothing, they did look like peasants.

"Actually, this is a disguise." Merlin grinned, obviously anticipating the reaction.

"Yes, I'm Arthur Pendragon." Arthur smiled, "King, Arthur Pendragon."

Will gaped, Freya almost fell over.

"But that makes Merlin..."

"Prince Merlin Pendragon." Merlin bowed with a grin, "Pleased to meet you."

Freya blushed deep red and ran out the door, strange reaction. Merlin sighed.

"She's had a thing for Merlin since they were kids." Will explained.

"Try telling that to Elena." Arthur teased.

"Oh, who's Elena?" Will teased right back.

"You two get on far too well." He grumbled.

Arthur laughed.

"Here." Will grabbed a pile of cloth, "Those clothes fit Merlin but I think you could do with a change."

"I like him." Arthur nodded at Merlin as he went to go change.

Tristan and Isolde whispered quietly to themselves as she rested while Merlin looked around the old hut with Will.

"Nothings changed." He mused.

"You have." Will sighed, half happy half sad, "Does Arthur..."

"Yeah, he knows." Merlin nodded, "The others don't."

"The king accepts you?" Will blinked in shock.

"We're working on lifting the ban, just slowly." Merlin smiled.

"Do you remember when we were kids and you almost flattened Old Man Simmons?" Will grinned.

"With that tree when I was trying to fell it...using unconventional means?" Merlin waggled his eye brows before laughing, "Of course."

They laughed.

"I have missed you Will." merlin smiled, but the moment ended.

There were screams coming from outside.

"What's going on?" Arthur asked appearing from behind the screen where he was changing.

"Merlin!" Freya called, "Men are surrounding the village!"

"Agravaine." The prince growled, "He's found us."

...

"Into the woods." Will instructed, "The tunnels, if you can make it that far they shouldn't be able to follow you."

Merlin nodded in thanks, the royals took off with Tristan and Isolde right behind him. Unfortunately Agravaine had his men surrounding the village and a small army was soon on their trail.

"I'll cover our tracks, you keep going." Merlin ordered, Arthur nodded, knowing the warlock had something specific in mind. He was right.

"**O drakon, fthengomai au se kalon; su katerkheo deuro!" **

Nothing happened yet but the warlock knew it was only a matter of time and took off after his brother toward the caves. He smiled darkly when Kilgharrah's beastly cries filled the night followed by the unmistakable crackle of fire. Agravaine's army would be severely depleted.

Quickly he ducked into the tunnel entrance where Arthur, Isolde and Tristan were waiting.

"Did you lose them?" Arthur asked.

"Yes." He replied shooting Arthur a look that said 'don't question my methods'.

"Will, Freya and I grew up in these tunnels." Merlin continued, "I know the way to the other side of the mountains."

"Was it safe? leaving them behind?" Arthur questioned as they made their way through the dark caves.

"Oh don;t worry about them." Merlin smiled, "They can take care of themselves."

The rumble of stones echoed about the cavern.

"I thought you said-"

"So I missed a few." Merlin hissed, "I'll go back."

"It's too risky." Arthur insisted.

"Just follow this path you'll be fine." Merlin nodded, "I know the tunnels. I'll be back before you know it."

And with that he was gone.

...

As expected Agravaine and a small group of men were blundering about the tunnels, despite their noise they would catch up if he didn't stop them. Taking deep breath he stepped out.

"Oh, Hello!" He bellowed before legging it back up to a dead end.

"Merlin!" Agravaine growled, "Where's Arthur?"

"Be careful." Merlin replied, monotone.

"What are you talking about?" the man exclaimed, "Where is Arthur, tell me now. Or I'm afraid I'll have to kill you. 'prince' or not."

"I don't think so." Merlin sighed shaking his head.

Agravaine snorted and took a step forward, Merlin barely had to move at all to send his men flying. All with a single look. Winded, Agravaine gasped or breath.

"You! You have magic!" he choked.

"I was born with it." Merlin replied darkly.

"Emrys..." The man breathed, "You're Emrys! And I thought I was a betrayal of Arthur's trust but you!"

"He knows. He's always known." Merlin sneered.

His 'uncle' got to his feet, grinning.

"Well done." He moved to shake his hand but Merlin stepped back, holding a palm up defensively.

"Come now no need to be so hasty!" With the last word Agravaine swung his sword but before the metal even came close to flesh the man was spiraling backwards, landing hard on the rocks that littered the cave floor.

Merlin heard his skull crack. He wouldn't rise again.

Then he turned, and didn't look back.

...

Arthur reached the edge of the tunnels, the cave mouth opened into a large valley, to the north Lot's kingdom, to the south Camelot. The sun was rising now, but Merlin wasn't back.

"Where is he?" Arthur muttered. _Please be alright._

"Is it true, that he was a peasant?" Tristan asked.

"Yes. When we first met, he was my servant."

"And yet you care for him as a brother?" Tristan seemed confused, guess loving didn't fit into his Pendragon mould.

"Of course. He is my brother." Arthur replied.

"Never knew you cared!" Merlin called, emerging from the tunnels.

"Where have you been?" Arthur demanded.

"Worried were you?"

"Always."

Merlin laughed, Arthur grinned.

"We'll head down into the forest, that's where the people who escaped will be hiding." Arthur ordered.

"Gwen?" Merlin asked, Arthur turned serious.

"She will be okay." Merlin insisted, "Come on, let's go find her."

...

They spent the day looking for a suitable camp, Arthur even gathered fire wood. Tristan found this most amusing.

"Look at you getting your hands dirty!"

"Why shouldn't I?" Arthur asked.

"Good point. You're not special." Tristan spat.

"Well, maybe you're right. Maybe I'm not fit to be king." Arthur argued, filled with self loathing.

"That's okay, cause you're not. Not anymore."

The chores continued in silence.

Merlin meant to speak with Arthur when a deep roared filled the air and the leaves began to shift in a spontaneous wind. The others looked up in shock and horror as a large winged panther descended on the camp. That's all they needed, a bloody baset!

Arthur drew his sword as did Tristan but Merlin's yell stopped them.

"No, wait it's okay!" He calmed.

To the other mens great surprise Merlin approached the baset, which nuzzled at him happily. The creature was jet black and just as tall as Merlin.

"It's only Freya." Merlin explained with a smile.

"Freya?" Arthur gaped.

"She was cursed when she was a child, I um, used my healing arts to fix her somewhat." Merlin stumbled over the words, obviously not wanting to say the word 'magic' in front of Tristan.

"She is forced to change when the moon is out but other times she can shift at will." Merlin smiled.

"It's cloudy out." Tristan noted, "Why can't she change back?"

Freya lowered her large head in a motion that almost seemed, embarrassed.

"Do you seen any clothes around?" Merlin grinned.

Oh.

Freya let out a low rumble.

"She's going to guard us for the night." Merlin explained.

"You understood that?" Arthur gaped.

"Not really, we got used to communicating when we were kids."

Freya purred.

* * *

><p><strong>I decided I liked the idea of a tame baset :)<strong>

**Sorry to say but this will be my last update for 2 weeks. I'm heading off to Japan and as much as I love to write, I don't want to spend my holiday writing fanfics :P **


	62. Chapter 62: Finale V

Arthur sat against a tree near the edge of camp, unable to sleep. Instead he opted to watch Merlin as he sat next to the now monstrous Freya as she guarded the edge of the camp.

She rumbled, making a low sound in her chest as Merlin scratched behind her ears, laughing while he did. Apparently the baset didn't take well to teasing and use a giant paw to knock Merlin over, playfully.

A few moments later Merlin came to sit with his brother, obviously trying to cheer him up.

"I think we should introduce her to Aithusa, she'd make a great playmate." Merlin mused.

Arthur hummed in response, making Merlin sigh.

"Stop blaming yourself." Merlin tried, "it's not your fault."

"What did you do to Agravaine?" Arthur asked in monotone.

Merlin went quiet. That was all the answer Arthur needed.

"What will we do, Merlin?" Arthur sighed, "I have a clue."

"We find those who escaped." Merlin suggested, "Gather them up, take back our city."

"They wouldn't follow me anymore." Arthur sighed, "I've let them down too many times."

"Arthur you're a great king." Merlin argued.

"Then why didn't I see Agravaine betrayal? Why couldn't I even defend the city?"

"I couldn't do it either." Merlin pointed out, "But I think together we can take it back."

"You really think so?" Arthur questioned, Merlin nodded.

"I know so."

…

Gathering up the people hidden within the forest proved much easier than first thought, Killgharah was able to locate many of them and then each royal would gather them up best they could. Even Freya found a few people, soaring high enough in the sky that she remained unseen. Their camp began to grow in size and faces, Arthur even hugged Leon when they found him.

Of course nothing compared with the running leap-into-one-another's-arms that was the reunion of the king and his future queen.

Though Arthur could sense his brother's disappointment when Gaius was not found among those who escaped. Neither was Gwaine or Elyan. The latter made Gwen sob slightly.

"We just have to get back and take Camelot all that much faster then." Merlin stated seriously, determination burned in his eyes.

As the large group of peasants, knights, nobles and royalty gathered around the fires that night Freya returned much to the shock of most in the area. Swords were drawn in seconds and people began to yell. Arthur felt his heart go out to the poor girl who couldn't help what she was. Even in this form Arthur could see the hurt and self-loathing in her eyes.

And then Merlin was Merlin.

"Put the weapons down!" He yelled, the people did as they were told immediately, they knew the prince rarely raised his voice and when he did you'd better do what he said.

Then he walked out toward Freya who instinctually stepped back. The prince held out his palm.

"It's okay, don't be scared anymore. I'm not going to let anybody hurt you."

Freya purred and nuzzled at him, the prince laughed. The people watched in awe as their prince proceeded to pet and talk to the 'monster'.

"She is just a girl." Merlin announced to them, "An unfortunate and cursed girl, but just a girl. You'll see once the sun goes down."

So slowly the people dispersed and allowed the baset into camp, where she settled by the princes fire. People still kept an eye on her however. As the sun rose the people prepared for battle, though many of them paused to watch as a blanket covered baset turn back into a girl. Gwen quickly and kindly offered the younger woman some clothing.

"That's magic for you." One man scoffed, "Turning an innocent girl into a monster."

"It's not magic's fault." Freya countered much to everybody's surprise, "A witch did this, not magic itself."

"Magic is the root of all evil." A man argued.

"Then I think swords must be." Freya argued.

"Where is the logic in that?" A woman scoffed.

Merlin stood and promptly slashed his sword across a tree. At first Arthur had thought it an act of frustration but instead of continuing Merlin then turned and pointed to the deep wound in the trees trunk.

"Magic could do that damage." He told them, everybody nodded, "But magic could also be used to fix it."

Arthur stepped back and let Merlin continue, smiling with what might have been pride. A few years ago Merlin was too nervous to even address the knights and yet here he was preaching the good of magic, something Arthur himself was too frightened to do.

Sometimes he wondered if destiny had gotten it wrong, maybe Merlin was supposed to be king not him. Then he laughed. Merlin as king?

…

The knights made plans for the castle's siege. It was going to be a difficult battle, but this time the army was of men. Not immortal warriors, there was no cup or magical artefact to lay waste to. They need only reach Morgana and then cut the head off the snake so to speak. That would not be easy.

"Morgana's power is great and we have nothing to counter it with." Leon sighed.

The princes exchanged glances.

"Leave Morgana to me." Merlin said after a few seconds, "You lot worry about taking back the city."

"You're going to take on a witch all by yourself?" Percival raised an eyebrow, "Mate, that's suicide. Arthur tell him."

Arthur turned to Merlin seriously.

"Time?" He asked quietly much to the confusion of everybody else.

"Tomorrow, no hiding." Merlin nodded.

"Merlin will deal with Morgana." Arthur informed the group much to their surprise.

"Believe me, he can handle it."

* * *

><p><strong>I know this chapter is a tad short but I want to have the battle all together. I've been back from Japan for a week already but I got distracted writing my new Merlin story "Impossible" which I'd love for you all to check out.<strong>

**If you like this story you'll love that one and it's complete already :P**


	63. Chapter 63: Finale VI

It felt odd standing outside the walls of Camelot as intruders, invaders trying to sneak an army into the castle rather than walking through the welcoming front gate. Merlin was already dreaming of a good long sleep in his very comfy bed.

The main army was still hidden in the tree's, well out of sight of the sentries currently strolling across the guard towers. The plan was simple enough, Leon and Percival would make their way to the dungeons in an effort to find and free those who were undoubtedly taken captive. Arthur and Merlin would make their way to the throne room to find Morgana while a few other choice knights watched their back and opened the gates so that the rest of their invading force could enter the city. Tristan and Isolde had insisted on coming wiht the princes as back up.

They were to enter through an old forgotten tunnel leading into the dungeons from the forest outside, making sure to leave it open so another wave of knights and brave peasants could invade the castle and begin the attack on the inside.

Initially the invasion was easy, sneaking through the tunnel into the deeper part of the dungeons was as simple as snapping their fingers but soon the fait glow of torches began to appear beyond them. The guards and cells were not far now. Percival and Leon made their move, successfully distracting the guards and allowing the royals to slip into the main castle and hide behind the tapestries adorning the walls. Merlin made a note to remember to remove them when Arthur was back on the throne.

"Morgana will be in the throne room." Arthur informed them, Merlin agreed.

"You two go first, we'll watch your backs." Isolde ensured them.

They raced for the throne room but much to their surprise they never made it there, halfway to the room Morgana appeared in the hall. The warning bells were ringing and Merlin could hear the yells of battle commencing within the castle courtyard. They were in!

"I should of finished you both off when I had the chance." She growled, "Guards!"

Men dressed in black rounded the corner and soon swords were clashing, Morgana turned to flee, or perhaps she simply wanted to aid her army with her magic but one things for sure, Merlin wasn't letting her out of his sight.

"I'll go after her!" He yelled, dodging a sword to the shoulder and leaving the men to Arthur, Tristan and Isolde.

They would follow soon those men were no match for his brother that was for sure. Merlin took off after Morgana, chasing her all the way to the castle courtyard where the peak of the battle was raging. Their knights had made it into the castle all right, even some peasants were fighting for their city, Merlin would make sure to thank those who lived, if they lived. If they lived, he thought darkly.

"Morgana!" He yelled making her stop on the steps and glare at him.

"We're giving you one chance." Arthur spoke up as he appeared in the doorway, "Leave now and never come back."

"Never," She growled, "I know perfectly well how you both feel about me and my kind, I am the rightful heir to this thrown!"

"So be it." Arthur sighed though the entire courtyard heard as the battle has ceased in favour of watching the royal family argue.

"You think you can defeat me with your little sword Arthur?" She sneered, "You cannot even get close to me! Breféræ!"

A long thin bolt of energy shot towards the group, but not to either of the brothers but Isolde. She gave a scream as the bolt hi her in the shoulder with a horrifying sizzle of flesh, Morgana laughed.

"You bitch!" Tristan yelled, gathering his wife up in his arms.

Merlin didn't even think about it.

"Astrice!" He bellowed raising one hand and knocking Morgana back.

You could hear a pin drop.

"How did you do that?" She screamed, "You have magic!"

"Thank you for stating the obvious Morgana." Arthur replied coldly, "Merlin here has been defending this land, this kingdom with his magic for years now. I've known, I've always known."

"Then why did you forsake me?" She yelled.

"We tried to help you." Merlin replied, "You were too far gone."

"Forbernnan!" She cast, the fire flew toward them and was immediately deflected by Merlin. The two were still locked in battle, making their way through the courtyard, Morgana casting spell after spell and Merlin deflecting each and ever one with apparent ease.

Suddenly Morgana changed her tactic and hurled one of her spells toward the crowed, specifically the knights, Merlin quickly conjured a shield of strange translucent blue light. The spell dissipated on contact. Grinning Morgana sent spells in every direction, even her own men, Merlin began conjuring the shield over everybody. The spell itself was not difficult but over such a large scale, constantly was beginning to take it's toll, especially as he was still dodging and dissipating attacks to his own person.

Finally it became too much for the prince and one of Morgana's fire balls hit home sending him flying onto his back heavily against the stone pavement.

"Merlin!"

He could hear Arthur calling to him from the other side of his barrier. He got to his feet before the next blow could be delivered.

"What's wrong little prince?" Morgana taunted, "Can;t throw a blow of your own? Can you only defend?"

Another stream of fire, though this one was constant, wrapping itself around the prince until his vision was blank save for the fire if it constricted he'd been burnt to death. Palms out flat at his side he held it back but it was getting too difficult. The heat was making him sweat as well as trying to concentrate on keeping his shield up it was becoming too much, even for Merlin.

_I can't do it… _

_No! I didn't come all this way to loose here!_

_I'm Emrys, I'm the most powerful sorcerer to ever live. I can win! _

_I am Emrys!_

With a yell Merlin dissipated the fire and sent a bolt of golden energy toward Morgana. The look of shock lasted only seconds as she dodged, Merlin sent more and more bolts toward Morgana and it was soon apparent that she was becoming overwhelmed.

With a sneer she attacked his shield once more, it had weakened now that his focus wa son the offensive. A section of it shattered under the assault and then Arthur was in the firing line.

Things happened quickly, Merlin tried to get the shield up in time but was too slow, Morgana fired a large ball of electricity toward the king and then there was a large roar, a black blur intercepted the attack and knocked Morgana to the ground.

"Freya!"

The baset was lying on the ground unmoving. Temporarily Merlin forgot Morgana and dove to the ground by Freya's feline head. She mewed weakly nuzzling into the princes knee and looking up at Merlin with shining blue eyes.

"I am so sorry." Merlin whispered, "But thank you."

Freya rumbled giving a weak sort of smile, before she stilled and closed her eyes. He was forgiven.

The prince clenched his fists. He was so sick of loosing people he cared about.

The sound of movement hit his ears and he turned suddenly still on his knees. Morgana was attempting to stand, Freya had knocked her hard with her paw, she was bleeding from where the claws had dug into her torso, it was a miracle she was alive at all.

She was still angry, her eyes filled with rage

The Morgana he wanted to save was gone.

"I'm sorry it had to be this way." He yelled raising his hand, me made sure the magic stuck true, it was painless for her.

Morgana dropped and Merlin suddenly felt very tired and realised he'd not only been casting powerful magic for this entire battle, but he'd been maintaining a very large shield around the people within the city so that they wouldn't be hit with the aftershocks. He dropped it and the silence was deafening.

It was a good thing Merlin was still on his knees by Freya's body so that when he fell he didn't hit the ground so hard. He was _so_ tried, forget the bed he was going to sleep here.

The last thing he heard was Arthur's voice, ordering the people to step back.

* * *

><p><strong>The battle is over! And this story is nearing it's end. <strong>


	64. The End

Arthur could hear the muttering all around him as he made his way through the crowd. The knights were busy gathering up Morgana's followers under Leon's orders while the peasants watched on as their king made his way over to his brother.

"Step back!" he ordered when the people started to surround the body of the baset and prince.

"Stand back," he repeated, "Nobody hurt them."

Some people seemed uneasy as they looked at the prince who was clearly breathing much to Arthur's relief. His relief was dampened however when he saw Freya was not.

"Can we help?" A woman asked, "We should get him to bed, or at least somewhere more comfortable."

Arthur smiled, he knew the people would understand.

It took a while but soon repairs were underway, there was little structural damage to the city but the people themselves were damaged. Gaius, Gwaine and Elyan were found mostly healthy. Gaius was suffering from exhaustion and a light fever but once he'd rested and eaten a good meal he was on his feet with Gwen helping those who were wounded.

Isolde had passed during the battle, a few moments before Freya's own death, Tristan was currently locked up in the room Arthur had given him. The man was inconsolable. Arthur didn't blame him, if anything had happened to Gwen...he didn't want to think about it.

Merlin was placed back in his chambers with his servant Will tending to him. The man was exhausted but otherwise fine so Arthur was fine to let him sleep it off. As expected many people now felt nervous about the princes powers but Arthur made sure to explain everything.

It felt wonderful, having the huge crowd listen to the adventures they two brothers had shared, the true versions this time when Merlin got the credit he deserved. Soon it was the latest gossip.

"Did you hear about how Merlin tamed a dragon?"

"My favourite was when Arthur fought Nimueh!"

"No, the best one was when they saved the last dragon egg!"

Magic was officially legal again, even Gaius was starting to use healing spells with his work by the next day. The druids were happy to help him as always, Camelot was nearly fully recovered by the next day. Which is when Merlin woke.

Nobody alerted the king when his brother regained consciousness, so he was very surprised to enter the throne room and see Merlin chatting with Gwen. He looked sad, obviously he was discovering Isolde's death.

"Merlin!" Arthur smiled, giving the man a quick hug which was swiftly returned.

"Magic is free." Merlin beamed, Arthur had never seen him so happy.

"Yes." Arthur breathed happily before turning sad, "I'm sorry about Freya."

"So am I." Merlin sighed, "And Isolde, but at least Gwen only got away with a cut. It only needed two stitches!"

"What?" Arthur turned to her quickly and placing a palm on her face.

"You never told me you were injured!"

"It wasn't important." She smiled, it was barely a scratch."

"Everything about you is important." Arthur breathed, forgetting his brother was standing to the side smirking.

"Everything."

…

Merlin was over the moon, magic was legal, the people accepted him and to top it all off, he was standing next to his brother as Gwen walked down the aisle. In a few short moments she would be queen and married to his brother. Married! Finally! The prince couldn't be happier for them. They were near the end of the ceremony

"Do you Guinevere, take Arthur as your husband?"

"I do."

"And do you agree to rule over this land with him as queen?"

"I do."

"Then by the power vested in me, by him." Merlin shoved a thumb toward Arthur who smirked.

"I pronounce you man and wife, now get to the kissing!"

...

Life was perfect, utterly perfect, magic was free, he was married to Guinevere and Camelot was at peace. So why did the king feel as though there was a heavy stone in his chest? It had been growing for the last few days until finally he had to excuse himself from a council meeting in order to just breathe.

Merlin came after him, of course he did and bought him back. They finished the meeting just as the sun was setting and both royals left. They shared a serious look which all around them had learnt a long time ago. That look meant that under no circumstances, were the princes supposed to be disturbed.

They made their way to Arthur's room ad lit the candles bathing the room in a warm glow. Sighing Arthur sat on the edge of his bed, Gwen had gone to help Gaius for the day, she wouldn't be back for a while.

"Do you feel it too?" Arthur asked finally as Merlin sat next to him, the warlock nodded.

"It's because it's finally over, we've been fighting for this for so long Arthur." Merlin whispered.

"We lost so much getting here too." Arthur replied blinking back tears as the faces filtered through his mind. He dropped his head and squeezed his eyes shut to try and keep the moister in but it made it's way through the closed lids. He felt Merlin leaning his forehead against his temple as well, he was shaking slightly. That made Arthur feel slightly better, at least he knew now he wasn't alone in his tears.

It wasn't the loud sort of crying with sobs and gasping breaths, rather the tears just fell on their own, no shuddering shoulders or wailing. It was the sort of crying that happened when you accept loss, which is what they were doing.

They cried for the loss of Morgana, a girl who was once so kind, their sister whom they had lost due to her own bitterness.

They cried for Uther and all the pain he'd suffered through in his life and how that pain had turned him against so much.

They cried for Freya, the innocent girl who had died trying to do what's right.

For Isolde and the pain of loss which Tristan was feeling.

For Merlin's true parent's whom he'd never known.

For those who lost their lives in the purge and those who were forced to hide as Merlin had.

For all the suffering they had seen, all the pain and hate.

And mostly for one another, they were all that was left now really. They had their friends, they had Gwen, Gaius and the knights but really all that was left of the Pendragon's, was them.

After a while they moved away, Merlin opened the curtains and looked out at the sky. Five years ago he'd been a peasant, he'd been living in fear of his magic, he'd thought himself a monster. Now he was a prince.

Five years ago Arthur was arrogant, reckless and secretly alone in the world. Now he was king.

So much had changed.

And so much more would change but the important thing was that they were together.

And they would face what was yet to come, together.

* * *

><p><strong>And that's the end! Two years and two stories later the Father's Guilt Series has finally come to an end. Thank you to all who reviewed and spurred me on when I was out of inspiration! I hope you shall enjoy reading it again some time!<strong>

**The last scene was inspired by this 'Comfort' by Pokeshipper on DeviantArt.**

**Ulura, out!**


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